1698P The presence of COVID-19 makes more cancer patients distressed and time perception may distinguish them

Abstract

Our multicentric study explores the potential relationship between time perception, level of distress and fear of infection with COVID-19 in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Perception of time was assessed in 300 cancer patients with solid tumors by evaluating each subjects’ prospective estimation of how fast one minute passed compared to the actual time. The median value (25 sec) of time perception was used to group cases into two categories of fast and slow perception of time. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer was used to evaluate levels of distress on a scale from 0 to 10. Patients scoring 4 or above were 173 (57.7%) and were regarded as having high levels of distress. Analogical thermometer was created for the fear of COVID-19 infection. Significantly more patients were distressed in the presence of COVID-19 than historically controls. Patients with lung, breast and colon cancer were most distressed and worried about possible COVID-19 infection. Median value of both thermometers was 5. The pattern of the time perception distributions significantly changed over levels of distress and fear of COVID-19 infection (both p<0.05). There were significant negative correlations between time perception and values of Distress and COVID-19 thermometers (rho=-0.341 and rho=-0.169) and positive correlation between values of both thermometers (rho=0.601). Patients with a fast perception of time had significantly higher levels of distress (5.4±3.1) and fear from COVID-19 (5.3±3.3) infection than patients with a slow perception of time (3.2±2.8 and 4.2±3.2; respectively, both p<0.05). Moreover, in a multivariate analysis of covariance, time estimation, was significantly related to the reported values of both thermometers (V = 0.13, F (2, 297) = 21.2, p <0.001). Significantly more patients with cancer disease experienced distress in the presence of possible COVID-19 infection. Perception of time is a novel potent indicator for high levels of distress and fear of COVID-19 infection in cancer patients.