Dr Melanie Price BSc (Hons), PhD (Psychological Medicine)

Position: Senior Research Fellow, CeMPED

Office: Room 336, Brennan MacCallum
Ph: +61 2 9351 3916
Fax: +61 2 9036 5292
Email:

Postal Address:
Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-based Decision-making
Brennan MacCallum Building (A18)
University of Sydney NSW 2006
Australia
Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED)

Background

I have been working in the area of psycho-oncology since 1994, firstly in the Department of Psychological Medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital, and since 2005 as part of CeMPED (previously the Medical Psychology Research Unit), in the School of Psychology. Since 2001, I have been involved in a large prospective Australasian study of psychosocial factors in the development of breast cancer in women from high-risk breast cancer families in collaboration with the Kathleen Cunningham Consortium for Research into Familial Breast Cancer (kConFab). This study is ongoing and will continue for at least ten years. Another area of interest is the role of psychosocial factors in the outcome of cancer. In 2005, we commenced a longitudinal study of women with ovarian cancer and their partners and carers. Working in collaboration with the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study (AOCS), this study examines Quality of Life, psychological distress, depression, insomnia, social support and unmet needs and how these change over time and relate to disease treatment and outcomes. The outcomes measures include both physical and psychological morbidity. Of special interest, is the supportive care needs of not only patients, but of family caregivers, with current studies including carers of women with ovarian cancer, bereaved cancer carers and carers of patients with brain tumours. Other interests include life event stress and depression, psychosocial issues relating to living with an increased familial risk of breast and ovarian cancer, communicating risk information and communication skills training.
 
 
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Research Interests

My primary area of research is psychosocial aspects of cancer, including psychosocial risk factors for developing cancer, the impact of being at high genetic risk of developing cancer, and the psychosocial factors that affect the course and outcome of cancer for patients and their carers. Current research projects include close collaboration with the Kathleen Cuningham Consortium for Research into Familial breast cancer (kConFab) and the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study (AOCS). My primary collaborators include Professor Phyllis Butow, Professor Christopher Tennant, Dr Penelope Webb, A/Professor Bettina Meiser, A/Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips.


 
 
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Current Studies

kConFab Psychosocial Study: Psychosocial factors in the development of breast cancer in women from high risk breast cancer families.

This ten year prospective cohort study of Australian and New Zealand women currently unaffected by cancer who are from high risk breast/ovarian cancer families in collaboration with kConFab. The primary aim is to establish the role of psychosocial variables, in particular life event stress, depression, optimism, and social support, in the development of breast cancer. A secondary aim is to identify predictors of women who undergo prophylactic (risk reducing) surgery and predictors of the long term psychological outcomes of women of prophylactic surgery. Phyllis Butow is the chief investigator of the study. Other investigators include Chris Tennant, Kathy Tucker, Bettina Meiser, Kelly-Anne Phillips, Margaret Charles.

AOCS Quality of Life Study: Quality of Life and psychosocial predictors of outcome of women with ovarian cancer and their carers.

This prospective study examines the role of quality of life, psychological distress, social support, and unmet support needs in women with ovarian cancer and their primary caregivers in relation to disease progression and Quality of Life, in collaboration with the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study. Other investigators include Phyllis Butow, Penny Webb, Chris Tennant.

Outcomes of primary carers of women with ovarian cancer following bereavement.
This study follows the carers from the AOCS Quality of Life Study following the death of women with ovarian cancer, with the aim to identify those at risk of a worse outcome, in terms of psychological health, physical health, and grief. Two potentially protective factors, namely ‘a good death’ and palliative care, are a major focus. Other investigators include Phyllis Butow, Liz Lobb, Josephine Clayton, Margaret Charles.

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Publications

  1. Price MA, Tennant CC, Smith RC, Butow PN, Kennedy SJ, Kossoff MB, Dunn SM. Predictors of breast cancer in women recalled following screening. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 1999;69: 639-646.
  2. Butow PN, Hiller JE, Price MA, Thackway SV, Kricker A, Tennant CC. Epidemiological evidence for a relationship between life events, coping style and personality factors in the development of breast cancer. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2000; 49: 169-181.
  3. Price MA, Tennant CC, Smith RC, Butow PN, Kennedy SJ, Kossoff MB, Dunn SM. The role of psychosocial factors in the development of breast cancer: Part 1 - The cancer prone personality. Cancer, 2001;91(4): 679-685.
  4. Price MA, Tennant CC, Butow PN, Smith RC, Kennedy SJ, Kossoff MB, Dunn SM. The role of psychosocial factors in the development of breast cancer: Part 2 - Life event stressors, social support, defense style and emotional control and their interactions. Cancer, 2001; 91(4): 686-697.
  5. Meiser B, Butow PN, Price M, Bennett B, Berry G, Tucker K , kConFab Psychosocial Group. Attitudes to prophylactic strategies in Australian women at increased risk for breast cancer. Journal of Womens Health, 2003; 12: 769-778.
  6. Lim J, Maclurcan M, Price M, Bennett B, Butow P, kConFab Psychosocial Group. Short and long-term impact of receiving genetic mutation results in women at increased risk for hereditary breast cancer. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 2004; 13(2): 115-33.
  7. Butow P, Meiser B, Price M, Bennett B, Tucker K, Davenport T, Hickie I, kConFab Psychosocial Group. Psychological morbidity in women at increased risk of developing breast cancer: A controlled study. Psycho-Oncology, 2005; 14: 196-203.
  8. Phillips K-A, Butow PN, Stewart AE, Chang J-H, Weideman PC, Price MA, McLachlan S-A, kConFab Investigators, Lindeman GJ, McKay MJ, Friedlander ML, Hopper JL. Predictors of participation in clinical and psychosocial follow up of the kConFab breast cancer family study. Familial Cancer, 2005; 4: 105-113.
  9. Price M, Butow P, Kirsten L. Support and training needs of cancer support group leaders: a review. Psycho-Oncology, 2006;15: 651–663.
  10. Kirsten L, Butow P, Price M, Hobbs K, Sundquist K. Who helps the leaders? Difficulties experienced by cancer support group leaders. Supportive Care in Cancer, 2006; 14: 770-778.
  11. Lobb EA, Clayton JM, Price MA. Invited. Suffering, loss and grief in palliative care. Australian Family Physician, 2006; 35(10): 772-775.
  12. Price MA, Butow PN, Lo SK, Wilson J, kConFab Psychosocial Group. Predictors of cancer worry in unaffected women from high-risk breast cancer families: Risk perception is not the primary issue. Journal of Genetic Counseling 2007. 16:635–644.
  13. Price MA, Cameron R, Butow PN. Communicating risk information: the influence of graphical display format on quantitative information perception – accuracy, comprehension and preferences. Patient Education and Counseling. 2007. 69:121–128.
  14. Easton DF, Pooley KA, Dunning AM, Pharoah PDP, Thompson D, Ballinger DG, et al. Genome-wide association study identifies novel breast cancer susceptibility loci. Nature. 2007 447(7148): 1087-1093.
  15. Dawson S-J, Price MA, Jenkins MA, McKinley JM, Butow PN, McLachlan S-A, Lindeman GJ, Weideman P, kConFab Investigators, Friedlander ML, Hopper JL, Phillips K-A. Cancer risk management practices of non-carriers within BRCA1/2 mutation positive families in the Kathleen Cuningham Consortium for Research into Familial Breast Cancer (kConFab). Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2008 26:225-232.
  16. Field KM, Jenkins MA, Friedlander ML, McKinley JM, Price MA, Weideman P, Keogh LA, McLachlan SA, Lindeman GJ, kConFab Investigators, Hopper JL, Butow PN, Phillips KA. Predictors of the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by women at high risk for breast cancer. European Journal of Cancer. 2009. 45:551-560.
  17. Kricker A, Price M, Butow P, Goumas C, Armes JE, Armstrong BK. Effects of life event stress and social support on the odds of a 2+cm breast cancer. Cancer Causes and Control. 2009. 20:437–447.
  18. Harrison JD, Young JM, Price MA, Butow PN, Solomon MJ. What are the unmet supportive care needs of people with cancer? A systematic review. Support Care Cancer 2009 17:1117–1128.
  19. Hersch J, Juraskova I, Price MA, Mullan B, Butow P. Psychosocial interventions and quality of life in gynaecological cancer patients: A systematic review. Psycho-Oncology. 2009 18: 795–810.
  20. Price MA, Zaccharie R, Butow PN, DeFazio A, Chauhan D, Espie C, Friedlander M, Webb P, the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study Group, the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study – Quality of Life Study Investigators. Prevalence and predictors of insomnia in women with invasive ovarian cancer: Anxiety a major factor. Eur J Cancer. In Press June 2009.
  21. Foley E, Baillie A, Huxter M, Price MA & Sinclair E. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Individuals whose lives have been affected by cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Accepted 24 June 2009.

 
 
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