Full disclosure of medical diagnosis to cancer patients in Japan remains co
ntroversial. Some physicians in Japan believe that full disclosure may affe
ct the outcome of treatment, create stress and psychiatric problems, or lea
d to suicide. Although the trend toward full disclosure is increasing in Ja
pan, approximately 70% of current cancer patients are still not fully infor
med of their condition. In this study, the authors examined the psychiatric
status and effects of full disclosure among 100 otolaryngology patients at
Tokai University Hospital (50 with benign diseases, 50 with malignancy) us
ing major depression and adjustment disorders criteria of the DSM-III-X Str
uctured Clinical Interview (SCID). This demonstrated that 15 of 50 (30%) pa
tients with benign diseases and 23 of 50 (46%) patients with malignant dise
ases met the criteria for depression and adjustment disorder; 29 of the 50
patients (58%) with malignant cancer were not informed of their true condit
ion, according to the wishes of their families (21 were fully informed). Th
e prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders was 42.9% among the informed gro
up and 48.3% among the uninformed group. These findings suggest that concea
ling the true diagnosis was not related to the presence of psychiatric diso
rders in Japanese cancer patients. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.