The Correlation Between Radiotherapy and Patients' Fear of Cancer Recurrence

Abstract

The purpose of this review was to explore the correlation between patients' fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and radiotherapy. National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, SinoMed, PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO-CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Ovid Embase were searched to identify relevant studies. Thirty-five eligible studies were included in the systematic review, and 22 of them were included in further meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the level of patients' FCR was positively correlated with radiotherapy, but the correlation was weak (overall r = 0.075; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.046-0.103; P = .000). In terms of subgroup analysis based on cancer site (breast cancer vs other types of cancer), the breast cancer group (r = 0.086; 95% CI, 0.027-0.143; P = .004), the mixed-type group (r = 0.073; 95% CI, 0.033-0.112; P = .000), and the other-type group (r = 0.071; 95% CI, 0.015-0.126; P = .013) have a positive correlation with radiotherapy. Patients' FCR positively correlated with the receipt of radiotherapy. However, because of the variability among the studies, the results have limitations. Therefore, longitudinal studies are needed to verify the trajectory of FCR over radiation therapy.

Relationship between social support and fear of cancer recurrence among Chinese cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Although the effect of types of cancer on FCR is not well-understood ( 86 ), several studies have found that breast cancer patients have the highest levels of FCR ( 17 , 87 ). And in line with this published meta-analyses ( 82 – 84 ) showed that in the breast cancer group, the r coefficient correlation between chemotherapy/radiotherapy and FCR was significant. This was inconsistent with findings of our study and may be due to the following reasons.…”

“…Furthermore, consistent conclusions were reached regarding the covariate of follow-up. However, longitudinal follow-up studies can be used to examine changes in the trajectory of FCR and this has been mentioned in several meta-analyses ( 82 – 84 ). Lebel et al ( 8 ) further proposed that FCR may show symptoms immediately after diagnosis and persist for several years.…”

Is de-escalation of treatment by omission of radiotherapy associated with fear of cancer recurrence in women with early breast cancer? An exploratory study

“…More specifically, the association between adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) and FCR is unclear. In BC, a weak positive association between RT and FCR has been reported, consistent with other cancers [ 8 ].…”

Efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy on psychological rehabilitation in cancer patients treated with proton and heavy ion therapy:a non-randomized controlled trial

“…Particle therapy is the most advanced radiotherapy technology, which uses proton or heavy ion rays to achieve the maximum dose release in the tumor target area and reducing the damage to the surrounding normal tissues [2,3]. However, cancer patients treated with particle therapy still face the problems of high treatment cost, uncertainty of treatment effect, adverse reaction, high recurrence rate, and di culty of treatment after recurrence in the process of particle therapy [4,5]. There are many psychological disturbances in them, such as despair, pain, fear, anxiety, and a series of negative emotions [6][7][8].…”