Objective   To compare statuses of depression, anxiety and quality of life among cervical cancer patients before and after laparoscopic or laparotomic surgery approaches and to provide references for implementing targeted psychological interventions in the patients.

  Methods   We randomly selected 49 and 55 cervical cancer patients with laparoscopic and laparotomic radical resection during the period from January 2015 to July 2016 in two affiliated hospitals of China Medical University; then we conducted questionnaire surveys in the patient before, 2 months and 6 months after the surgeries using Center for Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale (CES-D), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cervix (FACT-Cx). Analysis of variance and Chi-square test were adopted in data analyses.

  Results   No significant differences in scores for depression, anxiety, and quality of life were observed between the inpatients of the two groups (P > 0.05 for all). However, significantly lower FACT-Cx scores were observed among the patients with laparotomic surgery than among those with laparoscopic surgery at 2-month (67.92 ± 14.40 vs. 78.22 ± 11.88) and 6-month (72.46 ± 14.62 vs. 93.90 ± 8.08) after the surgery (both P < 0.05). Six months after the surgery, the scores for depression, anxiety, and quality of life among the patients with laparoscopic operation and the scores for anxiety and quality of life among the patients with laparotomic operation differed significantly compared to those of before and 2 months after the surgery (all P < 0.05). Higher prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and the comorbidity of depression and anxiety were detected among the patients with laparoscopic operation (89.8%, 91.8%, and 80.4%) and the patients with laparotomic operation (90.2%, 80.4%, and 74.5%) before the surgery; while all the rates did not vary significantly at 2-month and 6-month after the surgery in comparison with those before the surgery (all P > 0.05).

  Conclusion   The cervical cancer patients with laparoscopic radical resection had a better quality of life than those with laparotomic radical resection at 2-month and 6-month after the surgery and the formers’ depressive and anxious condition alleviated but the quality of life upgraded at 6-month after the surgery.