Abstract
Fear of recurrence (FoR) is the most frequent concern patients wish to discuss in head and neck review clinics. The aim of the study was to design a simple screening question on fear of recurrence to be incorporated into the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW-QOLv4), for use in clinical practice. A cross-sectional survey comprising 528 patients was conducted. 11 % selected the two most severe FoR categories. FoR responses correlated strongly (Spearman r s = −0.82) with the mean score of the seven items of the Fear of Recurrence Questionnaire. There was also a strong association with anxiety and mood dysfunction as measured from the UW-QOL, and with overall QOL. Patients more affected by FoR tended to be younger and post-radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The FoR screening question may be a useful addition to the UW-QOLv4 to help identify patients with significant FoR to receive extra support.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rogers SN, Scott B, Lowe D, Ozakinci G, Humphris GM (2010) Fear of recurrence following head and neck cancer in the outpatient clinic. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 267:1943–1949
Crist JV, Grunfeld EA (2013) Factors reported to influence fear of recurrence in cancer patients: a systematic review. Psychooncology 22:978–986
Rogers SN, El-Sheikha J, Lowe D (2009) The development of a Patients Concerns Inventory (PCI) to help reveal patients concerns in the head and neck clinic. Oral Oncol 45:555–561
Kanatas A, Ghazali N, Lowe D, Udberg M, Heseltine J, O’Mahony E, Rogers SNI (2013) ssues patients would like to discuss at their review consultation: variation by early and late stage oral, oropharyngeal and laryngeal subsites. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 270:1067–1074
Lang H, France E, Williams B, Humphris G, Wells M (2013) The psychological experience of living with head and neck cancer: a systematic review and meta-synthesis. Psychooncology 22:2648–2663
Humphris GM, Rogers SN, McNally D, Lee-Jones C, Brown JS, Vaughan ED (2003) Fear of recurrence and possible cases of anxiety and depression in orofacial cancer patients. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg 32:486–491
Llewellyn CD, Weinman J, McGurk M, Humphris G (2008) Can we predict which head and neck cancer survivors develop fears of recurrence? J Psychosom Res 65:525–532
Hodges LJ, Humphris GM (2009) Fear of recurrence and psychological distress in head and neck cancer patients and their carers. Psychooncology 18:841–848
Handschel J, Naujoks C, Kübler NR, Krüskemper G (2012) Fear of recurrence significantly influences quality of life in oral cancer patients. Oral Oncol 48:1276–1280
Ghazali N, Cadwallader E, Lowe D, Humphris G, Ozakinci G, Rogers SN (2013) Fear of recurrence among head and neck cancer survivors: longitudinal trends. Psychooncology 22:807–813
Shiraz F, Rahtz E, Bhui K, Hutchison I, Korszun A (2014) Quality of life, psychological wellbeing and treatment needs of trauma and head and neck cancer patients. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 52:513–517
Lee-Jones C, Humphris G, Dixon R, Hatcher MB (1997) Fear of cancer recurrence—a literature review and proposed cognitive formulation. Psychooncology 6:95–105
Lebel S, Tomei C, Feldstain A, Beattie S, McCallum M (2013) Does fear of cancer recurrence predict cancer survivors’ health care use? Support Care Cancer 21:901–906
Thewes B, Bell ML, Butow P (2013) Fear of cancer recurrence in young early-stage breast cancer survivors: the role of metacognitive style and disease-related factors. Psychooncology 22:2059–2063
Zhou Y, Humphris G, Ghazali N, Friderichs S, Grosset D, Rogers SN (2014) How head and neck consultants manage patients’ emotional distress during cancer follow-up consultations: a multilevel study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol (epub ahead of print)
Humphris G, Ozakinci G (2008) The AFTER intervention: a structured psychological approach to reduce fears of recurrence in patients with head and neck cancer. Br J Health Psychol 13:223–230
Simard S, Thewes B, Humphris G, Dixon M, Hayden C, Mireskandari S, Ozakinci G (2013) Fear of cancer recurrence in adult cancer survivors: a systematic review of quantitative studies. J Cancer Surviv 7:300–322
Thewes B, Zachariae R, Christensen S, Nielsen T, Butow P (2014) The Concerns About Recurrence Questionnaire: validation of a brief measure of fear of cancer recurrence amongst Danish and Australian breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv (epub ahead of print)
Rogers SN, Gwanne S, Lowe D, Humphris G, Yueh B, Weymuller EA Jr (2002) The addition of mood and anxiety domains to the University of Washington quality of life scale. Head Neck 24:521–529
Thewes B, Butow P, Zachariae R, Christensen S, Simard S, Gotay C (2012) Fear of cancer recurrence: a systematic literature review of self-report measures. Psychooncology 21(6):571–587. doi:10.1002/pon.2070. (Epub 2011 Oct 21)
Rogers SN, Lowe D, Yueh B, Weymuller EA Jr (2010) The physical function and social-emotional function subscales of the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 136:352–357
Savard J, Ivers H (2013) The evolution of fear of cancer recurrence during the cancer care trajectory and its relationship with cancer characteristics. J Psychosom Res 74:354–360
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflict of interest to report and no financial relationship as this research was unfunded and did not involve any organisation that sponsored the research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rogers, S.N., Cross, B., Talwar, C. et al. A single-item screening question for fear of recurrence in head and neck cancer. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 273, 1235–1242 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-015-3585-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-015-3585-x