Current status and influencing factors of the fear of disease progression in cancer patients

Objective To explore the current status and influencing factors of the fear of disease progression in cancer patients. Methods According to the convenience sampling, a total of 141 cancer patients who underwent radio-chemotherapy in a grade Ⅲ class A hospital in Ningbo from April to October 2016 were collected into this study. The general information questionnaire, fear of progression questionnaire-short form (FoP-Q-SF) and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) were used to survey the patients. The univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the influencing factors for fear of disease progression. Results The score of FoP-Q-SF were (23.60±8.10) . Approximately 10.6% (15/141) participants had a dysfunctional level of FoP-Q-SF (≥34 points) . The multivariable Logistic regression showed that the influencing factors included age, marital status and anxiety level (OR=0.168, 28.032, 6.844; P<0.05) . Conclusions The fear of disease progression in cancer patients should be well concerned and evaluated, especially in patients who at young/middle age, divorced or widowed, or with high anxiety level. These patients should be paid more attention to reduce and control the fear of disease progression. Key words: Neoplasms; Fear of disease progression; Influencing factor