Comparison of the sense of spousal support, anxiety, depression and their relationship to fear of cancer recurrence between lymphoma patients and their spouses: A cross-sectional study in China

Latent profile analysis of spousal information concealment in patients with cancer: A cross-sectional study

Objective

This study aimed to investigate spousal information concealment in patients with cancer and analyse its influencing factors.

Methods

Between April and July 2024, 371 spouses of patients with cancer were surveyed using the Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Questionnaire, the Information Concealment Scale for Caregivers, Fear of Progression Questionnaires for Partners, and the Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire. Influencing factors were analysed using latent profile analysis.

Results

Based on the degree of information concealment, spouses of patients with cancer were categorised into three subgroups: the low concealment - low control (19.14%), medium concealment (50.40%), and high concealment - high dissimulation group (30.46%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that sex, age, educational level, disease stage, fear of disease progression, and medical coping modes were the influencing factors of the information concealment subgroups (P＜0.05).

Conclusions

Information concealment among spouses of patients with cancer has individualized characteristics. Analysing the demographics, disease features, and psychological conditions of spouses in different information concealment subgroups can help medical staff formulate more targeted and personalized interventions and reduce the degree of information concealment among patients' spouses.

Characteristics and influencing factors of fear of cancer recurrence among family caregivers of breast cancer patients: a latent class analysis

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers of breast cancer patients often experience significant psychological challenges, including depression, anxiety, and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), yet these issues receive insufficient attention. This study aims to explore the heterogeneity of FCR among family caregivers and identify distinct subgroups based on their FCR levels.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 866 family caregivers of breast cancer patients at two tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. All participants completed the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Scale (FCR-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Scale (GAD-7) to assess their levels of FCR, depression, and anxiety. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subgroups of FCR, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to explore factors influencing FCR.

RESULTS

Three distinct subgroups of FCR were identified: low FCR group (16.17%), moderate FCR group (13.16%), and high FCR group (70.67%). Predictors of higher FCR included lower income, higher anxiety, and higher depression levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Family caregivers of breast cancer patients exhibit varying levels of FCR, with significant predictors being income, anxiety, and depression. Targeted interventions (e.g., psychoeducation, stress management, mindfulness exercises, and cognitive-behavioral therapy) that address these factors may help improve the mental health and well-being of family caregivers.

Group-based trajectory modeling for fear of cancer recurrence in cancer survivors: a systematic review

PURPOSE

We aimed to systematically review studies that used a group-based trajectory modeling approach to explore the categories of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) trajectories and their predictors in cancer survivors.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched. Three authors independently reviewed the literature for predefined eligibility criteria. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools for Cohort Studies and the Guidelines for Reporting on Latent Trajectory Studies were used to assess the quality of included studies. A qualitative synthesis of the included studies was performed.

RESULTS

Ninety-eight studies were retrieved after removing duplicates, and 11 studies met the criteria for inclusion. There are four types of FCR trajectories: stable, decreasing, increasing, and stable-then-decreasing-then-increasing. The following factors were considered significant predictors of FCR trajectory category in at least one of the included studies: age, race, income, education, employment, cancer stage, physical symptoms, depression, anxiety, satisfaction with medical care, and selected cognitive and behavioral factors.

CONCLUSIONS

There was considerable heterogeneity among the studies included in study design and FCR trajectory results. Factors that significantly predicted FCR trajectory categories mostly focused on psychological characteristics. The correlation of sociodemographic and disease-related predictors with FCR trajectory categories was not consistent among the included studies.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

We suggest that future scholars should incorporate more psychological factors when identifying cancer survivors who persistently maintain a high level of FCR and developing FCR mitigation measures.