Fear of cancer recurrence in long-term post-menopausal breast cancer women: evidence from the French national VICAN survey.

purposeThe purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) in post-menopausal women 5 years after the diagnosis of breast cancer (BC).

methodsUsing data from the VICAN-5 survey, we included women with non-metastatic BC, aged 55 years or more at diagnosis, who had not experienced disease progression in the 5 years post-diagnosis. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with FCR, characterized using a three-level indicator: no, mild, and moderate/severe FCR derived from a single item.

resultsAmong the 382 women included, the mean age was 66 years at diagnosis. Five years later, 38% of women were still receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET), and 27% were no longer on AET. Overall, 34.8% reported mild FCR, and 14.2% reported moderate/severe FCR. Cancer-related sequelae, anxiety, and a decrease in physical activity were associated with mild or moderate/severe FCR. Moderate/severe FCR was also more often reported by women still on AET experiencing significant side effects and those who had never taken AET. Mild FCR was more frequent in the two-thirds of women consulting a GP for the management of their cancer.

conclusionModerate/severe FCR affected one out of seven post-menopausal BC survivors 5 years after diagnosis, particularly those with anxiety, cancer sequelae, physical limitations, significant side effects of AET, but also among those who had never taken AET. BC survivors should be informed of long-term side effects of treatments, in particular AET, to help them cope with ongoing symptoms and related FCR.