Cristiane Decat Bergerot1, Dena Battle2, Errol J Philip3, Paulo Gustavo Bergerot1, Pavlos Msaouel4, Allan 'Ben' Smith5, Adeola Esther Bamgboje5, Brian Shuch6, Ithaar H Derweesh7, Eric Jonasch4, Adam P Stern8, Sumanta K Pal1, Michael Staehler9. 1. Department of Medical Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA. 2. Kidney Cancer Research Alliance, Alexandria, VA. 3. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. 4. Division of Cancer Medicine, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. 5. Centre for Oncology Education and Research Translation, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 6. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA. 7. University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA. 8. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 9. Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Patients with cancer commonly report distress and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) impacting quality of life and clinical outcomes. This study aims to test the association between emotional well-being and clinical characteristics of survivors with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Survivors with localized RCC were invited to participate in this study through social media by the Kidney Cancer Research Alliance. Participants self-reported clinical characteristics, distress (Distress Thermometer), and FCR (Fear of Cancer Recurrence-7). Ordinal regression was used to test the association between emotional well-being and patient characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 412 survivors were included in this analysis. Participants were mostly female (79.4%) and well educated (58.3%), with a median age of 54 years (range, 30-80 years) and median time since diagnosis of 17.5 months. More than one half were diagnosed with stage I disease (56.1%). Most patients (62.3%) had a clear understanding of their diagnosis. A high prevalence of moderate to severe distress (67.0%) and FCR (54.9%) was reported across all survivors of RCC. Higher FCR was associated with female gender, younger age, and lack of understanding of their diagnosis (P = .001), whereas more recent diagnosis was associated with higher distress levels (P = .01). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that FCR is a common problem that is persistent after therapy and that certain individuals, including female and younger patients, may be at particular risk of experiencing clinically relevant FCR.
PURPOSE:Patients with cancer commonly report distress and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) impacting quality of life and clinical outcomes. This study aims to test the association between emotional well-being and clinical characteristics of survivors with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Survivors with localized RCC were invited to participate in this study through social media by the Kidney Cancer Research Alliance. Participants self-reported clinical characteristics, distress (Distress Thermometer), and FCR (Fear of Cancer Recurrence-7). Ordinal regression was used to test the association between emotional well-being and patient characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 412 survivors were included in this analysis. Participants were mostly female (79.4%) and well educated (58.3%), with a median age of 54 years (range, 30-80 years) and median time since diagnosis of 17.5 months. More than one half were diagnosed with stage I disease (56.1%). Most patients (62.3%) had a clear understanding of their diagnosis. A high prevalence of moderate to severe distress (67.0%) and FCR (54.9%) was reported across all survivors of RCC. Higher FCR was associated with female gender, younger age, and lack of understanding of their diagnosis (P = .001), whereas more recent diagnosis was associated with higher distress levels (P = .01). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that FCR is a common problem that is persistent after therapy and that certain individuals, including female and younger patients, may be at particular risk of experiencing clinically relevant FCR.
Authors: Rachel Giles; Deborah Maskens; Robert Bick; Robin Martinez; Malcolm Packer; Daniel Heng; James Larkin; Axel Bex; Michael Jewett; Eric Jonasch; Sara MacLennan Journal: Eur Urol Open Sci Date: 2022-01-17