Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1/2021

01-12-2021 | Breast Cancer | Research

The effect of fear of progression on quality of life among breast cancer patients: the mediating role of social support

Authors: Yue Ban, Mengyao Li, Mingli Yu, Hui Wu

Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes | Issue 1/2021

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Women with breast cancer are prone to have mental stress and be stimulated by the fear of progression (FOP), then giving rise to a lower quality of life (QOL). The study aimed to examine the relationships between FOP, social support and QOL, and further explore whether social support mediates the association between FOP and QOL among Chinese patients with breast cancer.

Methods

The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to May 2020 at Anshan Cancer Hospital in Liaoning, China. 244 female breast cancer patients completed questionnaires including the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Breast (FACT-B), Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Fear of Progression (FOP). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between FOP, social support and QOL. Asymptotic and resampling strategies were used to explore the mediating role of social support.

Results

The mean QOL score was 90.6 ± 17.0 among the patients with breast cancer. FOP was negatively correlated with QOL, while social support was positively related to QOL. Social support partly mediated the association between FOP and QOL, and the proportion of the mediating effect accounted for by social support was 25%.

Conclusions

Chinese breast cancer patients expressed low QOL. Social support could mediate the association between FOP and QOL. Medical staffs and cancer caregivers should alleviate patients’ FOP to improve their QOL by facilitating social support.
Literature
1.
Schmidt ME, Wiskemann J, Steindorf K. Quality of life, problems, and needs of disease-free breast cancer survivors 5 years after diagnosis. Qual Life Res. 2018;27(8):2077–86.PubMedCrossRef
2.
Du J. Breast cancer in China. World Latest Med Inf. 2019;19(46):371–2 (article in Chinese).
3.
Cen X, Wang D, Sun W, Cao L, Zhang Z, Wang B, et al. The trends of mortality and years of life lost of cancers in urban and rural areas in China, 1990–2017. Cancer Med. 2020;9(4):1562–71.PubMedCrossRef
4.
Wang YH, Li JQ, Shi JF, Que JY, Liu JJ, Lappin JM, et al. Depression and anxiety in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2020;25(7):1487–99.PubMedCrossRef
5.
Oh PJ, Cho JR. Changes in fatigue, psychological distress, and quality of life after chemotherapy in women with breast cancer: a prospective study. Cancer Nurs. 2020;43(1):E54–60.PubMedCrossRef
6.
Felce D, Perry J. Quality of life: its definition and measurement. Res Dev Disabil. 1995;16(1):51–74.PubMedCrossRef
7.
Ferrell BR, Grant M, Funk B, Otis-Green S, Garcia N. Quality of life in breast cancer. Part II: psychological and spiritual well-being. Cancer Nurs. 1998;21(1):1–9.PubMedCrossRef
8.
Zeng H, Chen W, Zheng R, Zhang S, Ji JS, Zou X, et al. Changing cancer survival in China during 2003–15: a pooled analysis of 17 population-based cancer registries. Lancet Glob Health. 2018;6(5):e555–67.PubMedCrossRef
9.
Dinkel A, Herschbach P. Fear of progression in cancer patients and survivors. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2018;210:13–33.PubMedCrossRef
10.
Liu L, Lin F, Han Y. Meta-analysis of risk factors for postoperative recurrence of breast cancer in Chinese women. Public Health China. 2017;33(1):165–9 (article in Chinese).
11.
Koch L, Bertram H, Eberle A, Holleczek B, Schmid-Hopfner S, Waldmann A, et al. Fear of recurrence in long-term breast cancer survivors-still an issue. Results on prevalence, determinants, and the association with quality of life and depression from the cancer survivorship—a multi-regional population-based study. Psychooncology. 2014;23(5):547–54.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Shang C, Beaver K, Campbell M. Social cultural influences on breast cancer views and breast health practices among Chinese women in the United Kingdom. Cancer Nurs. 2015;38(5):343–50.PubMedCrossRef
13.
Sarkar S, Sautier L, Schilling G, Bokemeyer C, Koch U, Mehnert A. Anxiety and fear of cancer recurrence and its association with supportive care needs and health-care service utilization in cancer patients. J Cancer Surviv. 2015;9(4):567–75.PubMedCrossRef
14.
Al-Ghabeesh SH, Al-Kalaldah M, Rayan A, Al-Rifai A, Al-Halaiqa F. Psychological distress and quality of life among Jordanian women diagnosed with breast cancer: the role of trait mindfulness. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2019;28(5):e13082.CrossRef
15.
Niu L, Liang Y, Niu M. Factors influencing fear of cancer recurrence in patients with breast cancer: evidence from a survey in Yancheng, China. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2019;45(7):1319–27.PubMedCrossRef
16.
Waters EA, Liu Y, Schootman M, Jeffe DB. Worry about cancer progression and low perceived social support: Implications for quality of life among early-stage breast cancer patients. Ann Behav Med. 2013;45(1):57–68.PubMedCrossRef
17.
Dunn LB, Langford DJ, Paul SM, Berman MB, Shumay DM, Kober K, et al. Trajectories of fear of recurrence in women with breast cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2015;23(7):2033–43.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Firouzbakht M, Hajian-Tilaki K, Moslemi D. Analysis of quality of life in breast cancer survivors using structural equation modelling: the role of spirituality, social support and psychological well-being. Int Health. 2020;12(4):354–63.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
19.
Thoits PA. Mechanisms linking social ties and support to physical and mental health. J Health Soc Behav. 2011;52(2):145–61.PubMedCrossRef
20.
Romeo A, Di Tella M, Ghiggia A, Tesio V, Gasparetto E, Stanizzo MR, et al. The traumatic experience of breast cancer: which factors can relate to the post-traumatic outcomes? Front Psychol. 2019;10:891.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
21.
You J, Lu Q. Social constraints and quality of life among Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors: a mediation model. Qual Life Res. 2014;23(9):2577–84.PubMedCrossRef
22.
Li CC, Chen ML, Chang TC, Chou HH, Chen MY. Social support buffers the effect of self-esteem on quality of life of early-stage cervical cancer survivors in Taiwan. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2015;19(5):486–94.PubMedCrossRef
23.
Sauer C, Weis J, Faller H, Junne F, Honig K, Bergelt C, et al. Impact of social support on psychosocial symptoms and quality of life in cancer patients: results of a multilevel model approach from a longitudinal multicenter study. Acta Oncol. 2019;58(9):1298–306.PubMedCrossRef
24.
Koch-Gallenkamp L, Bertram H, Eberle A, Holleczek B, Schmid-Hopfner S, Waldmann A, et al. Fear of recurrence in long-term cancer survivors-do cancer type, sex, time since diagnosis, and social support matter? Health Psychol. 2016;35(12):1329–33.PubMedCrossRef
25.
Hsiao FH, Klimidis S, Minas H, Tan ES. Cultural attribution of mental health suffering in Chinese societies: the views of Chinese patients with mental illness and their caregivers. J Clin Nurs. 2006;15(8):998–1006.PubMedCrossRef
26.
Oven Ustaalioglu B, Acar E, Caliskan M. The predictive factors for perceived social support among cancer patients and caregiver burden of their family caregivers in Turkish population. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2018;22(1):63–9.PubMedCrossRef
27.
Nissen KG, Trevino K, Lange T, Prigerson HG. Family relationships and psychosocial dysfunction among family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. J Pain Symptom Manag. 2016;52(6):841–9.CrossRef
28.
Toledo G, Ochoa CY, Farias AJ. Exploring the role of social support and adjuvant endocrine therapy use among breast cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer. 2020;28(1):271–8.PubMedCrossRef
29.
Leung J, Pachana NA, McLaughlin D. Social support and health-related quality of life in women with breast cancer: a longitudinal study. Psychooncology. 2014;23(9):1014–20.PubMedCrossRef
30.
Yu Y, Sherman KA. Communication avoidance, coping and psychological distress of women with breast cancer. J Behav Med. 2015;38(3):565–77.PubMedCrossRef
31.
Celik GK, Cakir H, Kut E. Mediating role of social support in resilience and quality of life in patients with breast cancer: structural equation model analysis. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2021;8(1):86–93.PubMedCrossRef
32.
Manning-Walsh J. Social support as a mediator between symptom distress and quality of life in women with breast cancer. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2005;34(4):482–93.PubMedCrossRef
33.
Li MC, Cheng HL. Fear of cancer recurrence, supportive care needs, and the utilization of psychosocial services in cancer survivors: a cross-sectional survey in Hong Kong. Psychooncology. 2020;30(4):602–13.PubMedCrossRef
34.
Fan L, Strasser-Weippl K, Li J-J, St Louis J, Finkelstein DM, Yu K-D, et al. Breast cancer in China. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15(7):e279–89.PubMedCrossRef
35.
Chen SQ, Liu JE, Zhang ZX, Li Z. Self-acceptance and associated factors among Chinese women with breast cancer. J Clin Nurs. 2017;26(11–12):1516–23.PubMedCrossRef
36.
Wan C, Zhang D, Yang Z, Tu X, Tang W, Feng C, et al. Validation of the simplified Chinese version of the FACT-B for measuring quality of life for patients with breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2007;106(3):413–8.PubMedCrossRef
37.
Brady MJ, Cella DF, Mo F, Bonomi AE, Tulsky DS, Lloyd SR, et al. Reliability and validity of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast quality-of-life instrument. J Clin Oncol. 1997;15(3):974–86.PubMedCrossRef
38.
Mehnert A, Herschbach P, Berg P, Henrich G, Koch U. Fear of progression in breast cancer patients-validation of the short form of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire (FoP-Q-SF). Z Psychosom Med Psychother. 2006;52(3):274–88.PubMed
39.
Wu QYZ. Li L Reliability and validity of Chinese version of fear of progression questionnaire-short form for cancer patients. Chinese J Nurs. 2015;50(12):1515–9 (article in Chinese).
40.
Zimet GD, Powell SS, Farley GK, Werkman S, Berkoff KA. Psychometric characteristics of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. J Pers Assess. 1990;55(3–4):610–7.PubMedCrossRef
41.
Wang F, Liu J, Liu L, Wang F, Ma Z, Gao D, et al. The status and correlates of depression and anxiety among breast-cancer survivors in Eastern China: a population-based, cross-sectional case-control study. BMC Public Health. 2014;14(1):326.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
42.
Obrien RM. A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Qual Quantity. 2007;41(5):673–90.CrossRef
43.
Preacher KJ, Hayes AF. Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behav Res Methods. 2008;40(3):879–91.PubMedCrossRef
44.
An Y, Fu G, Yuan G. Quality of life in patients with breast cancer: the influence of family caregiver’s burden and the mediation of patient’s anxiety and depression. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2019;207(11):921–6.PubMed
45.
Milbury K, Kavanagh A, Meng Z, Chen Z, Chandwani KD, Garcia K, et al. Depressive symptoms and positive affect in Chinese and United States breast cancer survivors: a cross-cultural comparison. Support Care Cancer. 2017;25(7):2103–9.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
46.
Matthies LM, Taran FA, Keilmann L, Schneeweiss A, Simoes E, Hartkopf AD, et al. An electronic patient-reported outcome tool for the FACT-B (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast) questionnaire for measuring the health-related quality of life in patients with breast cancer: reliability study. J Med Internet Res. 2019;21(1):e10004.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
47.
Park JH, Jung YS, Jung YM, Bae SH. The role of depression in the relationship between cognitive decline and quality of life among breast cancer patients. Support Care Cancer. 2019;27(7):2707–14.PubMedCrossRef
48.
Lam WW, Au AH, Wong JH, Lehmann C, Koch U, Fielding R, et al. Unmet supportive care needs: a cross-cultural comparison between Hong Kong Chinese and German Caucasian women with breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011;130(2):531–41.PubMedCrossRef
49.
Lee S, Chen L, Ma GX, Fang CY, Oh Y, Scully L. Challenges and needs of Chinese and Korean American breast cancer survivors: in-Depth Interviews. N Am J Med Sci (Boston). 2013;6(1):1–8.
50.
Spatuzzi R, Vespa A, Lorenzi P, Miccinesi G, Ricciuti M, Cifarelli W, et al. Evaluation of social support, quality of life, and body image in women with breast cancer. Breast Care (Basel). 2016;11(1):28–32.CrossRef
51.
Karam AK. Breast cancer posttreatment surveillance: diagnosis and management of recurrent disease. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2011;54(1):157–63.PubMedCrossRef
52.
Simonelli LE, Siegel SD, Duffy NM. Fear of cancer recurrence: a theoretical review and its relevance for clinical presentation and management. Psychooncology. 2017;26(10):1444–54.PubMedCrossRef
53.
Berg CJ, Vanderpool RC, Getachew B, Payne JB, Johnson MF, Sandridge Y, et al. A hope-based intervention to address disrupted goal pursuits and quality of life among young adult cancer survivors. J Cancer Educ. 2020;35(6):1158–69.PubMedCrossRefPubMedCentral
54.
Gotze H, Taubenheim S, Dietz A, Lordick F, Mehnert-Theuerkauf A. Fear of cancer recurrence across the survivorship trajectory: results from a survey of adult long-term cancer survivors. Psychooncology. 2019;28(10):2033–41.PubMedCrossRef
55.
Crist JV, Grunfeld EA. Factors reported to influence fear of recurrence in cancer patients: a systematic review. Psychooncology. 2013;22(5):978–86.PubMedCrossRef
56.
Sultan S, Fisher DA, Voils CI, Kinney AY, Sandler RS, Provenzale D. Impact of functional support on health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer. Cancer. 2004;101(12):2737–43.PubMedCrossRef
57.
Acquati C, Miyawaki CE, Lu Q. Post-traumatic stress symptoms and social constraints in the communication with family caregivers among Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer. 2019;28(9):4115–22.PubMedCrossRef
58.
Lim JW, Shon EJ, Paek M, Daly B. The dyadic effects of coping and resilience on psychological distress for cancer survivor couples. Support Care Cancer. 2014;22(12):3209–17.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
59.
Classen CC, Kraemer HC, Blasey C, Giese-Davis J, Koopman C, Palesh OG, et al. Supportive-expressive group therapy for primary breast cancer patients: a randomized prospective multicenter trial. Psychooncology. 2008;17(5):438–47.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
60.
Kissane DW, Grabsch B, Clarke DM, Smith GC, Love AW, Bloch S, et al. Supportive-expressive group therapy for women with metastatic breast cancer: survival and psychosocial outcome from a randomized controlled trial. Psychooncology. 2007;16(4):277–86.PubMedCrossRef
Metadata
Title
The effect of fear of progression on quality of life among breast cancer patients: the mediating role of social support
Authors
Yue Ban
Mengyao Li
Mingli Yu
Hui Wu
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7525
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-021-01816-7

Other articles of this Issue 1/2021

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1/2021 Go to the issue

Letter

Reply to: The influences of the environment and information on the complications of diabetes on patient outcomes

Research

Intragenerational social mobility and self-rated oral health in the british cohort study

Research

Happiness, quality of working life, and job satisfaction among nurses working in emergency departments in Iran

Review

Instruments to assess quality of life in people with mental health problems: a systematic review and dimension analysis of generic, domain- and disease-specific instruments

Research

The Persian Translation and validation of the celiac disease quality of life questionnaire (CDQOL)

Research

Importance of personality and coping expectancy on patient-reported hearing disability, quality of life and distress level: a study of patients referred to an audiology service