McCowat M, et al. - In view of the association of varied psychological factors with acute and chronic pain after surgery for breast cancer, researchers performed a systematic review of relevant prospective studies in an attempt to define a wider range of psychological predictors of both acute and chronic pain after breast cancer surgery. They included 12 studies that represented 11 independent cohorts; 10 of these studies described psychological predictors. Significant predictors of acute pain included anxiety and psychological robustness, while the strongest predictor of chronic pain was distress. Investigators determined there was, at best, a mixed relationship between depression and chronic pain following surgery.