Beliefs about medicine and illness are associated with fear of cancer recurrence in women taking adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer

PURPOSE: Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) affects 50%-70% of cancer survivors. This multicenter, single-arm study sought to determine the participant-rated usefulness of an oncologist-delivered FCR intervention. METHODS: Women who completed treatment for early breast cancer (could be receiving endocrine therapy) with baseline FCR > 0 were invited to participate. FCR was measured using a validated 42-item FCR Inventory. The brief oncologist-delivered intervention entailed (1) FCR normalization; (2) provision of personalized prognostic information; (3) recurrence symptoms education, (4) advice on managing worry, and (5) referral to psycho-oncologist if FCR was high. FCR, depression, and anxiety were assessed preintervention (T0), at 1 week (T1), and 3 months (T2) postintervention. The primary outcome was participant-rated usefulness. Secondary outcomes included feasibility and efficacy. RESULTS: Five oncologists delivered the intervention to 61/255 women invited. Mean age was 58 ± 12 years. Mean time since breast cancer diagnosis was 2.5 ± 1.3 years. Forty-three women (71%) were on adjuvant endocrine therapy. Of 58 women who completed T1 assessment, 56 (97%) found the intervention to be useful. FCR severity decreased significantly at T1 (F = 18.5, effect size = 0.39, P < .0001) and T2 (F = 24, effect size = 0.68, P < .0001) compared with baseline. There were no changes in unmet need or depression or anxiety. Mean consultation length was 22 minutes (range, 7-47 minutes), and mean intervention length was 8 minutes (range, 2-20 minutes). The intervention was perceived as useful and feasible by oncologists. CONCLUSION: A brief oncologist-delivered intervention to address FCR is useful and feasible, and has preliminary efficacy in reducing FCR. Plans for a cluster randomized trial are underway.

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Perilla Oil and Bifidobacterium for Alleviating Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors: Study Protocol for a Three-Arm Phase II Randomized Controlled Study (POB Study)

Methods and Protocols ◽

10.3390/mps4030046 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 46

Author(s):

Yohei Sasaki ◽

Mina Honyashiki ◽

Takayuki Kinoshita ◽

Akira Matsui ◽

Ayako Nakashoji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Study Protocol ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Fear Of Cancer Recurrence ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Perilla Oil ◽

Fear Of Cancer

The fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is the most common and most severe unmet need among cancer survivors. Safe treatments for the FCR that are easily disseminated are greatly needed. Our primary aim is a preliminary evaluation of the efficacy and effect size of perilla oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and Bifidobacterium, a probiotic, on FCR in breast cancer survivors after the completion of chemotherapy. This study has been planned as an exploratory clinical study (phase II) and will be conducted as a three-arm, 12-week parallel group, masked-rater randomized controlled trial. Fifteen participants will be randomized with 1:1:1 allocation to receive Bifidobacterium plus perilla oil, Bifidobacterium alone, or no intervention (control). Interventions will end within 12 weeks after the random allocation of each participant. The participants will be outpatients with invasive breast cancer aged 20 years or older whose chemotherapy was completed at least 6 months before registration; hormone therapy may be ongoing. The primary outcome will be severity of FCR at 12 weeks assessed by masked raters using the 4-item Concerns about Recurrence Scale concerning overall fear of recurrence. The study protocol for the current study is registered in the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCTs031200029).

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Factor structure of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory (FCRI): Comparison of international FCRI factor structure data and factor analysis of the Dutch FCRI‐NL using three predominantly breast cancer samples

European Journal of Cancer Care ◽

10.1111/ecc.13431 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sanne Jasperine Helmondt ◽

Marije Liesbeth Lee ◽

Else Maria Bisseling ◽

Paul Lodder ◽

Jolanda Vries

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Factor Structure ◽

Structure Data ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Fear Of Cancer Recurrence ◽

Fear Of Cancer

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Healthcare Provider Perspectives on Adherence to Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy after Breast Cancer

Current Oncology ◽

10.3390/curroncol28020139 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 1472-1482

Author(s):

Leah K. Lambert ◽

Lynda G. Balneaves ◽

A. Fuchsia Howard ◽

Stephen L. K. Chia ◽

Carolyn C. Gotay

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Endocrine Therapy ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Current System ◽

Quality Care ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy ◽

Structural Factors ◽

Provider Perspectives

Adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) for breast cancer is suboptimal. The purpose of this study was to: (1) explore the experiences and perspectives of healthcare providers (HCPs) in providing care to breast cancer survivors prescribed AET, (2) identify how social and structural factors influence the provision of AET-related care, and (3) ascertain HCP recommendations for optimizing AET adherence and related care. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 HCPs using an interpretive descriptive approach to inquiry and the theoretical lens of relational autonomy. Data was analyzed using thematic and constant comparative techniques. Healthcare providers focused on four main components of AET-related care: (1) the importance of having careful conversations about AET, (2) difficulties in navigating transitions in care, (3) symptom management as a big part of their role, and (4) dealing with AET discontinuation. Recommendations to improve AET adherence focused on developing sustainable and efficient models of delivering high-quality care to women on AET. Healthcare providers play a pivotal role educating women about AET and supporting their adherence to therapy. Sustainable healthcare system innovations and new models of care that address current system gaps are needed to enhance survivorship care, AET adherence, and ultimately, reduce cancer recurrence and mortality.

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Cohort study of adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy, breast cancer recurrence and mortality

British Journal of Cancer ◽

10.1038/bjc.2013.116 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 108 (7) ◽

pp. 1515-1524 ◽

Cited By ~ 131

Author(s):

B Makubate ◽

P T Donnan ◽

J A Dewar ◽

A M Thompson ◽

C McCowan

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Endocrine Therapy ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy ◽

Breast Cancer Recurrence

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Everyday protective buffering predicts intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence in couples coping with early‐stage breast cancer

Psycho-Oncology ◽

10.1002/pon.4942 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 317-323 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Christine Perndorfer ◽

Emily C. Soriano ◽

Scott D. Siegel ◽

Jean‐Philippe Laurenceau

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Early Stage ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Early Stage Breast Cancer ◽

Fear Of Cancer Recurrence ◽

Protective Buffering ◽

Fear Of Cancer ◽

Couples Coping

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Fear of cancer recurrence among breast cancer survivors could be controlled by prudent dietary modification with polyunsaturated fatty acids

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.014 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 245 ◽

pp. 1114-1118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ryo Okubo ◽

Hiroko Noguchi ◽

Kei Hamazaki ◽

Masayuki Sekiguchi ◽

Takayuki Kinoshita ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Fatty Acids ◽

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Fear Of Cancer Recurrence ◽

Dietary Modification ◽

Fear Of Cancer

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Fear of Cancer Recurrence Is Highly Prevalent and Linearly Associates With Anxiety and Depression in Chinese Breast Cancer Patients

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1153816/v1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Zhensheng Li ◽

Yue Li ◽

Yunjiang Liu ◽

Jun Zhang ◽

Xiaohui Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Recurrence ◽

Depression Score ◽

Fear Of Cancer Recurrence ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Distress Screening ◽

Reference Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Fear Of Cancer

Abstract Objective: To characterize the fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and its relationship with anxiety and depression and quality of life (QoL) among Chinese breast cancer (BC) patients in China. Methods: Patients completed the questionnaires of QLQ-C30, QLQ-BR32 and HAD to assess FCR, QoL, anxiety and depression before radiotherapy. A cross-sectional analysis was performed. Chi-square and non-parametric tests and multivariate ordinal logistic regressions (mOLR) were utilized for reference analysis. Final covariates included age, BMI, TNM, surgery, chemotherapy, pain, and sleep disturbance. Results: From July 2015 to December 2016, 463 patients were prospectively enrolled. Their age mean (range) were 47 (19 - 89) years old. In total, 327 patients (70.6%) reported having FCR ‘a little bit’ (51.2%), ‘some’ (12.1%) and ‘very much’ (7.3%) in the past week. FCR severity ordered above (incl. ‘no’) was associated with anxiety score (median 1.5, 5.0, 7.0, 8.5 and level (‘abnormal’ rate 0%, 3.4%, 12.5%, 26.5%), depression score (median 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 6.5) and level (‘abnormal’ rate 2.2%, 3.4%, 5.4%, 17.7%) (all p<0.001). mOLR showed that compared to ‘no’, three higher levels of FCR were associated with one level increase of anxiety with OR (p) as 1.983 (0.076), 4.291 (0.001), 8.282 (<0.001) and depression with OR (p) as 1.903 (0.062), 2.262 (0.065), 4.205 (0.004), respectively. FCR severity also was inversely associated with most QoL function scores (p<0.001). Conclusions: FCR was prevalent in Chinese BC patients and linearly associated with anxiety, depression and low QoL. It seems that a single-item question for FCR is a valid surrogate tool for distress screening in this population.

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