Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jul 10;19(1):178.
doi: 10.1186/s12955-021-01816-7.

The effect of fear of progression on quality of life among breast cancer patients: the mediating role of social support

Yue Ban  1 , Mengyao Li  1 , Mingli Yu  1 , Hui Wu  2
Affiliations

The effect of fear of progression on quality of life among breast cancer patients: the mediating role of social support

Yue Ban et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: Women with breast cancer are prone to have mental stress and be stimulated by the fear of progression (FOP), then giving rise to a lower quality of life (QOL). The study aimed to examine the relationships between FOP, social support and QOL, and further explore whether social support mediates the association between FOP and QOL among Chinese patients with breast cancer.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to May 2020 at Anshan Cancer Hospital in Liaoning, China. 244 female breast cancer patients completed questionnaires including the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Breast (FACT-B), Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Fear of Progression (FOP). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between FOP, social support and QOL. Asymptotic and resampling strategies were used to explore the mediating role of social support.

Results: The mean QOL score was 90.6 ± 17.0 among the patients with breast cancer. FOP was negatively correlated with QOL, while social support was positively related to QOL. Social support partly mediated the association between FOP and QOL, and the proportion of the mediating effect accounted for by social support was 25%.

Conclusions: Chinese breast cancer patients expressed low QOL. Social support could mediate the association between FOP and QOL. Medical staffs and cancer caregivers should alleviate patients' FOP to improve their QOL by facilitating social support.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Fear of progression; Quality of life; Social support.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Model of the mediating role of Social support between FOP and QOL. Note: **P < 0.01
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schmidt ME, Wiskemann J, Steindorf K. Quality of life, problems, and needs of disease-free breast cancer survivors 5 years after diagnosis. Qual Life Res. 2018;27(8):2077–2086. doi: 10.1007/s11136-018-1866-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Du J. Breast cancer in China. World Latest Med Inf. 2019;19(46):371–372.
    1. Cen X, Wang D, Sun W, Cao L, Zhang Z, Wang B, et al. The trends of mortality and years of life lost of cancers in urban and rural areas in China, 1990–2017. Cancer Med. 2020;9(4):1562–1571. doi: 10.1002/cam4.2765. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang YH, Li JQ, Shi JF, Que JY, Liu JJ, Lappin JM, et al. Depression and anxiety in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2020;25(7):1487–1499. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0595-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Oh PJ, Cho JR. Changes in fatigue, psychological distress, and quality of life after chemotherapy in women with breast cancer: a prospective study. Cancer Nurs. 2020;43(1):E54–E60. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000689. - DOI - PubMed