Poster Presentation Cancer Survivorship 2019

Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast and Colorectal Cancer Survivors (#216)

Sharon Nahm 1 2 , Prunella Blinman 1 , Sue Butler 1 , Cindy Tan 1 , Janette Vardy 1 3
  1. Concord Cancer Centre, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, NSW, 2137
  2. Concord Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
  3. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006

Aims

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a major concern for patients who have received curative treatment for cancer. We aimed to: (a) define the incidence and severity of FCR; and (b) identify factors associated with FCR in breast cancer (BC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors who attended the Sydney Survivorship Clinic at Concord Hospital.

Methods

Data from a prospectively collected RedCap database were used to perform a cross-sectional study. Survivors completed questionnaires on quality of life (QOL) and symptoms prior to attending the clinic. QOL and symptoms were measured by the Distress Screening Tool, Patient’s Disease and Treatment Assessment Form (PDTA) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G). All patients were formally assessed by a clinical psychologist for the presence of FCR. Clinical and QOL variables were evaluated for associations with FCR. Factors independently associated with FCR were identified using logistic regression.

Results

Overall, 254 survivors (146 BC, 108 CRC) were included. 160 survivors (63%) had FCR diagnosed by psychology assessment and 44/78 (56%) had moderate-severe FCR. On univariable analysis, factors associated with FCR included younger age (p<0.001), BC compared with CRC (p=0.001), higher distress score (p=0.004), insomnia (p=0.006), anxiety (p<0.001), poorer emotional wellbeing (p=0.003), and poorer overall wellbeing (p=0.002). FCR was significantly associated with less support from friends (p=0.028), less satisfaction with family communication about the illness (p=0.038) and poorer emotional wellbeing subscale (p<0.001) on the FACT-G. On multivariable analysis, younger age (p=0.021), being more bothered by side effects of treatment (p=0.021) and more worry about dying (p=0.045) were independently associated with FCR.

Conclusion

FCR is an important problem for cancer survivors. There were high rates of FCR amongst BC and CRC survivors, and the majority was moderate-severe. FCR was independently associated with younger age, being more bothered by side effects of treatment and more worry about dying.