The numerous types of cancer in this category consist of: breast, ovarian, uterine and cervical types principally.
There is some controversy regarding the effects that psychiatric/psychological factors play in the incidence and course of these and other cancers. Large epidemiologic studies found that depression was associated with double the risk of death from cancer up to 17 years post diagnosis. However, other prospective large cohort studies found no depressive symptom effects on cancer risk. In breast cancer as a protypical example, 50% of the patients experienced serious degrees of anxiety, depression and other psychiatric symptoms/illnesses during the course of their illness. Depression which may be reactionary, biologically mitigated or the result of treatment, can affect the course of the illness, recurrence or mortality according to some but not all studies.