Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is defined as “fear, worry, or concern relating to the possibility that a primary cancer or subsequent malignancy will return or progress to other parts of the body”1 and is prevalent among survivors of adult-onset cancer.2-4 Some vigilance toward pain and associated anxiety is common and likely adaptive in survivors given their increased risk of recurrence of primary cancer and subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs).5-14 However, clinically significant levels of FCR (CS-FCR; ie, causing functional impairment and/or distress) are associated with several negative outcomes in adult-onset cancer survivors, including anxiety and depression, reduced quality of life, and overuse of outpatient hospital services.4,15-17 Common FCR risk factors in this population include younger current age, physical symptoms (eg, fatigue, pain), female sex, metastatic diagnosis, and treatment factors (eg, chemotherapy).4,6,18-26 Although FCR has been well characterized among adult-onset cancer survivors, less attention has been paid to FCR among adult survivors of childhood cancer, who are at low risk for recurrence of their primary childhood cancer but at high risk for SMNs(approximately 6-fold increased risk compared with the general population).13,14,27-35

This publication has 78 references indexed in Scilit: