Objective: Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is characterized by the fear, worry or concern that cancer will come back or progress. The negative effects associated with FCR are consistently identified by cancer survivors as one of their most prominent unmet needs. Current measures of FCR can be long, complex and burdensome for survivors to complete. The objective of the present study is to develop and validate a one-item measure of FCR.Methods: The ability of the FCR-1 to detect change in FCR over time was analyzed using a repeated-measures ANOVA and paired-samples t-tests. Pearson correlations were used to measure the concurrent, convergent and discriminant validity of the FCR-1, and a ROC analysis was conducted to determine an optimal clinical cut-off score.Results: The FCR-1 was found to be responsive to change in FCR over time. It demonstrated concurrent validity with the FCRI (r = .395, P = .010), and convergent validity with the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (r = .493, P = .001) and the Reassurance Questionnaire (r = .325, P = .044). Discriminant validity was confirmed when the FCR-1 did not significantly correlate with unrelated measures. A ROC analysis pinpointed an optimal clinical cut-off score of 45.0.
Conclusions:The FCR-1 is a promising tool that can be incorporated in clinical and research settings. Due to its brevity, the care needs of highly distressed patients can be met quickly and efficiently. In research settings, the FCR-1 can reduce the cognitive burden experienced by survivors. K E Y W O R D S breast cancer, cancer, fear of cancer recurrence, oncology, psycho-oncology, scale development, single-item measure, survivors, unmet needs, validation
| BACKGROUNDAlthough nearly half of all Canadian women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime, the majority of these women will survive their cancer due to early detection and advanced treatment options. 1 Despite good prognosis, many of these women will experience fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). At a 2-day colloquium at the University of Ottawa in 2015, researchers consensually defined FCR as the "fear, worry, or concern relating to the possibility that cancer will come back or progress." 2 FCR is very common, especially at the end of treatment; studies have demonstrated that it can affect anywhere between 22% and 96% of cancer survivors. 2-4 Survivors consistently include FCR in their top health-related concerns, and frequently identify help regarding FCR as one of their most prominent unmet needs in healthcare settings. 4-6 29:788-795. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pon 4 | RESULTS
| ResponsivenessOnly participants with FCR-1 scores at all 6 timepoints (n = 29) were included in the RM ANOVA analysis. The FCR-1 means at each session are summarized in Table 2. A repeatedmeasures ANOVA with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction was used as sphericity could not be assumed. The mean scores for FCR were statistically significantly different (F[3.425, 95.903] = 4.026, P = .007, η 2 = .126). Paired sample ttests were conducted to examine the dif...