Abstract
Purpose
Many cancer patients experience fear of progression (FoP). The purpose of this study was to test psychometric properties of the questionnaire FoP-Q-12, to examine age and gender differences of FoP, and to explore prognostic factors of FoP.
Methods
A sample of 2059 patients with a cancer diagnosis who had participated in a cancer rehabilitation program was examined 6 months after discharge from the rehabilitation clinic. Participants filled in the Fear of Progression questionnaire FoP-Q-12, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (anxiety subscale), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire GAD-2 and answered a list of questions concerning their cancer disease.
Results
Reliability of the FoP-Q-12 (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90) was good. While exploratory factorial analysis supported the one-dimensional structure of the FoP-Q-12, confirmatory factorial analysis only partially supported the one-dimensional model. A proportion of 16.7 % of the sample scored above the FoP-Q-12 cutoff score. Females showed higher FoP scores than males (effect size d = 0.52), and older patients had slightly lower levels of FoP than younger patients (d = 0.17). There were substantial and significant correlations between FoP-Q-12 and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) anxiety (r = 0.71) as well as GAD-2 anxiety (r = 0.57). The highest FoP mean scores were found for the following cancer locations: ovary (M = 29.5), thyroid gland (M = 28.8), and breast (M = 27.9), while the lowest scores were found for Hodgkin lymphoma (M = 23.6), testis (M = 21.8), and prostate (M = 21.7).
Conclusions
The FoP-Q-12 proved to be a valid instrument for measuring fear of progression in cancer patients.
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There is no conflict of interest to declare. We (the authors) have full control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review the data if requested.
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Hinz, A., Mehnert, A., Ernst, J. et al. Fear of progression in patients 6 months after cancer rehabilitation—a validation study of the fear of progression questionnaire FoP-Q-12. Support Care Cancer 23, 1579–1587 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2516-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2516-5