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Physical and psychological health in rare cancer survivors.

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:Registries provide a unique tool for tracking quality of life in rare cancer survivors, whose survivorship experience is less known than for common cancers. This paper reports on these outcomes in 321 patients enrolled in the Rare Cancer Genetics Registry diagnosed with rare gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecologic, sarcoma, head/neck, or hematologic cancers. METHODS:Four outcomes were assessed, reflecting registrants' self-reported physical and mental health, psychological distress, and loneliness. Combining all patients into a single analysis, regression was used to evaluate the association between outcomes and socio-demographic and clinical factors. RESULTS:Median time since diagnosis was 3 years (range 0-9); 69 % were no longer in treatment. Poorer physical health was reported in registrants who were older at diagnosis, unmarried, and still in treatment. Poorer mental status was associated with younger diagnosis age and unmarried status. Psychological distress varied by cancer type and was higher among currently treated and unmarried registrants. Greater loneliness was reported in registrants with gynecological cancers, and those who were less educated or unmarried. The physical and mental health profile of rare cancer survivors is similar to what is reported for common cancers. CONCLUSIONS:Unmarried participants reported poorer outcomes on all measures of quality of life. Furthermore, physical and mental health were not significantly different by cancer type after adjustment for diagnosis age, whether currently in treatment and marital status. Thus, the combined analysis performed here is a useful way to analyze outcomes in less common diseases. Our findings could be valuable in guiding evaluation and intervention for issues impacting quality of life. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS:Rare cancer survivors, particularly those without spousal support, should be monitored for challenges to the physical as well as psychological aspects of quality of life.

SUBMITTER: Horick NK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5896295 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Physical and psychological health in rare cancer survivors.

Horick Nora K NK Manful Adoma A Lowery Jan J Domchek Susan S Moorman Patricia P Griffin Constance C Visvanathan Kala K Isaacs Claudine C Kinney Anita Y AY Finkelstein Dianne M DM

Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice 20161019 1

<h4>Purpose</h4>Registries provide a unique tool for tracking quality of life in rare cancer survivors, whose survivorship experience is less known than for common cancers. This paper reports on these outcomes in 321 patients enrolled in the Rare Cancer Genetics Registry diagnosed with rare gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecologic, sarcoma, head/neck, or hematologic cancers.<h4>Methods</h4>Four outcomes were assessed, reflecting registrants' self-reported physical and mental health, psycholo ...[more]

PMID: 27761785

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Project description:ObjectiveTo examine whether health-related stressors and resources are associated with physical function, depression, and anxiety in Chinese American and White breast cancer survivors.MethodDuring 2011-2013, this cross-sectional study enrolled Chinese American and White women from California cancer registries diagnosed with Stage 0-III breast cancer between 2006 and 2012. Survivors completed a telephone survey assessing health-related factors including comorbidity, treatment-related symptoms, medical communication, perceived threat, use of coping, and social support resources. Outcomes were assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System® (PROMIS®) short forms. Chinese were classified as low- or high-acculturated based on English proficiency, years in the United States, and interview language. Analyses were conducted using Tobit regression models.ResultsLow-acculturated Chinese (n = 136) had worse physical functioning than Whites (n = 216), controlling for demographics, cancer stage, and time since diagnosis (β = -3.33, p = .01). This disparity was attenuated after adjusting for comorbidity and symptoms (β = -1.63, p = .18). Perceived threat, disengagement coping, and lack of social support were associated with poorer psychological outcomes, regardless of ethnicity. Although low-acculturated Chinese had lower scores on all health-related factors than Whites, the former reported significantly lower level of depression (β = -3.23) and anxiety (β = -5.8) after adjusting for covariates (both p < .05). High-acculturated Chinese (n = 84) did not differ from Whites except that the former had significantly lower anxiety.ConclusionLow-acculturated Chinese may benefit from interventions aimed to improve their physical problems. However, despite experiencing greater psychosocial stress, they reported better emotional functioning. Whether Chinese culture shapes this resiliency, or if it is a reporting bias will need further investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Project description:BackgroundCancer survivors are at an elevated risk for several negative health outcomes, but physical activity (PA) can decrease those risks. Unfortunately, adherence to PA recommendations among survivors is low. Fitness mobile apps have been shown to facilitate the adoption of PA in the general population, but there are limited apps specifically designed for cancer survivors. This population has unique needs and barriers to PA, and most existing PA apps do not address these issues. Moreover, incorporating user preferences has been identified as an important priority for technology-based PA interventions, but at present there is limited literature that serves to establish these preferences in cancer survivors. This is especially problematic given the high cost of app development and because the majority of downloaded apps fail to engage users over the long term.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to take a qualitative approach to provide practical insight regarding this population's preferences for the features and messages of an app to increase PA.MethodsA total of 35 cancer survivors each attended 2 focus groups; a moderator presented slide shows on potential app features and messages and asked open-ended questions to elicit participant preferences. All sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Three reviewers independently conducted thematic content analysis on all transcripts, then organized and consolidated findings to identify salient themes.ResultsParticipants (mean age 63.7, SD 10.8, years) were mostly female (24/35, 69%) and mostly white (25/35, 71%). Participants generally had access to technology and were receptive to engaging with an app to increase PA. Themes identified included preferences for (1) a casual, concise, and positive tone, (2) tools for personal goal attainment, (3) a prescription for PA, and (4) an experience that is tailored to the user. Participants reported wanting extensive background data collection with low data entry burden and to have a trustworthy source translate their personal data into individualized PA recommendations. They expressed a desire for app functions that could facilitate goal achievement and articulated a preference for a more private social experience. Finally, results indicated that PA goals might be best established in the context of personally held priorities and values.ConclusionsMany of the desired features identified are compatible with both empirically supported methods of behavior change and the relative strengths of an app as a delivery vehicle for behavioral intervention. Participating cancer survivors' preferences contrasted with many current standard practices for mobile app development, including value-based rather than numeric goals, private socialization in small groups rather than sharing with broader social networks, and interpretation of PA data rather than merely providing numerical data. Taken together, these insights may help increase the acceptability of theory-based mHealth PA interventions in cancer survivors.

Project description:Background: A large body of evidence supports the positive effects of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and exercise on cancer survivors. However, only a fraction of survivors manages to attain international PA recommendations. This can be attributed to several external and internal barriers toward PA those patients seem to encounter, with cancer related fatigue (CRF) being the most reported internal barrier. Nevertheless, self-efficacy and knowledge about the utilization of LTPA can serve as facilitators of PA, which also correspond to certain constituents of physical activity related health competence (PAHCO). Since PAHCO is not investigated in cancer survivors we investigated if PAHCO can mediate the negative relationship between CRF and LTPA. Methods: We surveyed 398 cancer survivors with different cancer types and therapy status. The patients completed the EORTC QLQ-FA12 (EORTC FA12) to assess CRF, the PAHCO questionnaire to assess PAHCO and the SQUASH to assess LTPA. We followed a two-step structural equation modeling approach. The first step established the measurement model, in the second step we fitted the mediation model. Since 163 patients chose not to answer the SQUASH, the mediation model was only fitted to the data of the remaining 235 participants. Results: The proposed measurement model of the PAHCO offered an excellent fit. We found small to moderate positive associations between the PAHCO dimensions and the LTPA, and negative moderate relationships between the PAHCO and the EORTC FA12 dimensions. We did not observe a relationship between the EORTC FA12 dimensions and the LTPA (p > 0.05). The hypothesized mediation models did not display an appropriate fit. Conclusion: The PAHCO confirmed its factorial validity; furthermore, it appears to have a positive relationship to LTPA. Therefore, integrating psycho-educational aspects can be beneficial in order to increase the PAHCO in exercise interventions. Because of the cross-sectional character of this study, causal conclusions are not suitable, therefore the longitudinal relationships of LTPA, CRF, and PAHCO require further investigation.

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Physical and psychological health in rare cancer survivors.

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Physical and psychological health in rare cancer survivors.

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