Depression and anxiety frequently occur in oncology patients and have a sig
nificant impact on patient quality of life. health care utilization, and ev
en disease outcome. Depression and anxiety are eminently treatable, and the
refore psychiatric assessment and appropriate intervention should form an i
ntegral component of management strategy in patients with cancer. It is ess
ential that patients are recognized at an early stage, so that resources ca
n be targeted effectively at those most at risk of developing psychiatric m
orbidity. Evaluation techniques that can identify signs or symptoms of depr
ession and anxiety and can be incorporated into the program of a busy oncol
ogy clinic or in the primary care setting are therefore needed. Diagnosis o
f depression and anxiety may be facilitated by using primary screening tool
s, such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire, and by
considering factors such as family psychiatric history, levels of family su
pport, and degrees of pain suffered by the patient. In this article, the is
sues surrounding diagnosis of depression and anxiety in cancer patients and
the benefits of early intervention are considered from the point of view o
f the oncologist.