Increased fear of progression in cancer patients with recurrence

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the fear of progression (FoP) in cancer patients and the discriminant ability of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire (FoP-Q) against the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), while also examining relationships between FoP, satisfaction outcomes and supportive needs. Method: The FoP-Q and HADS were administered to 112 cancer patients in Korea during June and July 2006. The FoP-Q totals and subscales, and the HADS scores were compared across three groups (patients with recurrence, patients with metastases and controls experiencing neither). Results: Comparison of the FoP-Q total score to HADS anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D) scores showed higher FoP in the recurrence group compared to the control group (P=.009). Subscale score comparisons revealed a heightened "affective reaction" (P=.003) to cancer progression and fear of "loss of autonomy" (P=.011) in recurrence patients. FoP-Q score showed a moderate association with HADS-A (r=.54, P=.000) and a significant association with treatment satisfaction (r=.26, P=.007), medical staff and communication (r=.31, P=.001), and supportive needs (r=-.41, P=.000). Conclusion: The importance of providing supportive interventions tailored to the specific emotional concerns of cancer patients, assessed via appropriate, disease-specific instruments, and the need to pay special attention to the concerns of recurrence patients are suggested. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.