VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Depression can affect the likelihood of surviving cancer, but there is no clear association yet with how quickly the cancer progresses, according to a report published last week.

Death rates are nearly 40 percent higher for cancer patients diagnosed with major or minor depression, according to University of British Columbia researchers who surveyed more than two dozen international clinical studies.

"We found an increased risk of death in patients who report more depressive symptoms than others, and also in patients who have been diagnosed with a depressive disorder compared to patients who have not," Jillian Satin, the report's lead researcher said.

The report was published in the online edition of the American Cancer Society's journal Cancer.