The Correlation of Psychological Symptoms, Quality of Life and Resilience in Patients with Recurrent Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Recurrent nonmelanoma skin cancer is a chronic, mutilating disease with great potential to leave cosmetic, functional, and emotional consequences. Aims: To examine the correlation between psychological symptoms, quality of life and resilience in people with recurrent nonmelanoma skin cancer. Methods: A clinical retrospective study was conducted at the Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery of the University Hospital Mostar in the period from February 2025 to April 2026. The study sample consisted of 160 patients who underwent surgery for nonmelanoma facial skin carcinoma. Data were collected with a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), the Connor Davidson Resilience scale 25 (CD-RISC-25) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHQOL-BREF). Results: Correlation analysis showed significant associations between psychological symptoms, quality of life and resilience. All dimensions of psychological symptoms were statistically significantly negatively related to quality of life. Resilience measured by the CD-RISC scale showed a weak but statistically significant negative correlation with non-specific psychological symptoms. Patients with reccurent NMSC had significantly more psychological symptoms (F = 21.961, p < 0.001), lower quality of life (F = 12.788, p < 0.001), and lower levels of resilience (F = 4.174, p = 0.043). Conclusions: Psychological factors play an important role in patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer. An integrated biopsychosocial approach, which includes the assessment of psychological symptoms and resilience, may contribute to a better understanding of patients' needs and improve the quality of treatment.