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Cited by 194Cancer survivorship and careChildhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of LifeWomen's cancer prevention and management

Concerns of former breast cancer patients about disease recurrence: a validation and prevalence study

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van den Beuken‐van Everdingen, Marieke H. J., Peters, Madelon L., de Rijke, Janneke M., Schouten, Harry C., van Kleef, Maarten, Patijn, Jacob·2008·Psycho-Oncology
DOI 10.1002/pon.1340
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Abstract

Objective : The present study has three aims: first, to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the CARS (CARS‐DLV). Second, to measure the prevalence of concerns about disease recurrence in former breast cancer patients and identify potential predictors and third, to establish how fear of recurrence was effecting quality of life. Methods : A prospective study was carried out on breast cancer patients ( n =136) who had undergone curative treatment. Eligible patients completed an extensive questionnaire consisting of the CARS (fear of recurrence), HADS (anxiety and depression), BPI (pain), RAND (quality of life), LOT (optimism) and the PCS (catastrophzing). Results : This study confirmed the good internal consistency, test–retest stability and construct validity of the CARS (Dutch Language version). Moderate to high levels of fear of disease recurrence were found in 56% of 136 breast cancer survivors. Worries about health and death were the most prominent. Pain was a strong predictor of overall fear and of fear on the four sub domains of the CARS. The prevalence of fear decreased significantly with age. Education level, living arrangements and time since the last treatment did not predict the prevalence of overall fear. Fear of recurrence was negatively correlated with quality of life. Conclusion : The CARS‐DLV proved to be a valuable instrument to measure women's' concerns about breast cancer recurrence. More than half of former breast cancer patients indicated moderate to severe concerns about disease recurrence. Health and death worries were the most prominent. The levels of worry were independent of the time since diagnosis. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Younger age is associated with higher FCR in breast cancer and other cancer types.

    “A systematic review by Crist and Grunfeld [5] revealed that younger age was associated in almost every study with higher FCR for different cancer types, including breast cancer [53–55].”

    From Fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors carrying a BRCA1 or 2 genetic mutation : a cross-sectional study (2024) · cites this paper as [55]

    The Discussion (page not supplied) reports that older former breast cancer patients had lower overall, health, role, and death worries than younger patients. The paper mentions fear of recurrence in other cancer types, but does not report an age association for those cancers. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Addressing anxiety early in cancer survivorship at re-entry serves to ease acute anxiety during re-entry and to prevent chronic, debilitating, and costly anxiety.

    “Addressing anxiety early in cancer survivorship—at re-entry, as presently proposed—thus serves a dual purpose: to ease acute anxiety during the often-challenging re-entry phase and to prevent the development of chronic, debilitating, and costly anxiety [3, 27, 28].”

    From A randomized controlled trial of a group acceptance-based intervention for cancer survivors experiencing anxiety at re-entry ('Valued Living'): Study protocol (2019) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Introduction reports that fear of recurrence can be associated with anxiety, and the Discussion says it can persist for years, harm quality of life, and warrant targeted interventions (page unavailable). The paper does not establish that intervention at re-entry eases acute anxiety, prevents chronic anxiety, or reduces costs; it says little is known about the effects of psychosocial interventions after treatment. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Verhoeven K, Crombez G, Van Damme S. Angst voor tergkeer van borstkaner na genezing: de rol van somatosensore amlificatie en trekangst. Gedrag en Gezondheid 2005;33:27-32.
  2. Johnson Vickberg SM. Fears about breast cancer recurrence. Cancer Pract 2001;9:237-243.
  3. Lasry JC, Margolese RG. Fear of recurrence, breast- conserving surgery, and the trade-off hypothesis. Cancer 1992;69:2111-2115.
  4. Schover LR, Yetman RJ, Tuason LJ et al. Partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction. A comparison of their effects on psychosocial adjustment, body image, and sexuality. Cancer 1995;75:54-64.
  5. Zee KIvd, Sanderman R, Heyink J. De psychometrische kwaliteiten van de MOS 36-item Shor orm Health Survey (sf-36) in een Nederlandse populatie. Tijdschrift voor Sociale Gezondheidszorg 1993;4:183-191.

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Authors
van den Beuken‐van Everdingen, M. H. J., Peters, M. L., de Rijke, J. M., Schouten, H. C., van Kleef, M., & Patijn, J.
Affiliations
  • Maastricht University (NL)
  • Maastricht University Medical Centre (NL)
ORCID
Venue
Psycho-Oncology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2008-05-16
Volume
17
Issue
11
Pages
1137-1145
ISSN
  • 1057-9249 (ISSN-L)
  • 1099-1611
DOI
10.1002/pon.1340
OpenAlex
W2042411384
Cited by
194
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 12
FWCI
4.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Psycho-Oncology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Women's cancer prevention and management
Keywords
breast cancer survivors, fear of recurrence, psychometric validation, quality of life, pain, anxiety and depression, optimism, catastrophizing, Dutch version
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety Disorders, Breast Neoplasms, Character, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Depressive Disorder, Fear, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local, Netherlands, Pain Measurement, Prospective Studies, Psychometrics, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Sick Role, Reproducibility of Results

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