Purpose Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death globally, and understanding symptom clusters (SCs) among LC patients could improve symptom management. This scoping review provides a comprehensive summary of the most common SCs and their compositions identified in studies specifically investigating SCs of LC patients. Methods A scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The study included LC patients as participants, SCs as the concept, and studies with distinct aim to investigate LC SCs as the context. We searched studies from inception to September 2022 in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library databases using the terms: "lung cancer," "cancer survivors, " and "symptom cluster." Results: Of 41 reviewed reports, 188 SCs were identified. Both a priori and de novo method were used to identify LC SCs, with exploratory factor analysis being the most commonly used statistical method in the de novo approach. The three most frequent SCs were respiratory, gastrointestinal (GI), and psychological SCs. The most common respiratory SC included cough + dyspnea. Nausea + vomiting was the most prevalent cluster membership among GI SCs. Sad + feeling irritable + feeling nervous + worrying was the most common cluster membership among psychological SCs. Conclusion Respiratory, GI, and psychological SCs were common among LC patients, and addressing these clusters could improve symptom management strategies. Further research on SCs across the lung cancer trajectory is essential to enhance our understanding about SCs and facilitate effective symptom management throughout the disease course.
Purpose The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with stress among Korean cancer survivors who are employed.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive methodology was applied, and secondary analysis was performed using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014 to 2018. A total of 245 employed cancer survivors were included, and data were analyzed using either the χ2 test or the independent t-test, as well as multiple logistic regression analysis.
Results: Four factors were found to be associated with stress among employed cancer survivors: age (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.96, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=0.94~0.98), gender (with men less likely to be stressed; OR=0.46, 95% CI=0.23~0.91), self-rated health status (OR=1.44, 95% CI=1.03~2.02), and having planned suicide in the previous year (OR=22.98, 95% CI=2.10~251.83).
Conclusion: To facilitate a successful return to work for cancer survivors, it is necessary to develop a stress intervention and/or rehabilitation program that comprehensively considers sociodemographic characteristics, current health status, health behaviors, and mental health.
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A national estimate of mental disorders and mortality outcomes in cancer survivors Thi Xuan Mai Tran, Min Sung Chung, Chihwan Cha, Boyoung Park Cancer.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Purpose Cancer survivors face a high risk of developing secondary cancers; thus, they should consider their primary cancer experiences as signals to adopt secondary cancer-preventive behaviors. This study examined the mediating effect of perceived threat in the relationship between cue to action and such behaviors and identified the gender effect as a moderator in breast and colorectal cancer survivors.
Methods: A total of 505 cancer survivors (253 with breast cancer and 252 with colorectal cancer) participated in this study. These participants were involved in cancer-related physical activities at the outpatient oncology clinic of a tertiary teaching hospital in Korea. Participants completed structured, self-administered questionnaires, and a PROCESS macro was utilized to analyze the mediating effect of perceived threat.
Results: Cue to action positively affected perceived threat (B=0.38, p <.001). Additionally, both cue to action (B=0.20, p=.047) and perceived threat (B=1.28, p<.001) positively influenced secondary cancer-preventive behaviors. In the relationship between cue to action and these behaviors, perceived threat explained 30.0% of the variance. Gender was supported as a moderator in the relationship between cue to action and perceived threat. A bootstrap analysis confirmed the mediating effect of perceived threat.
Conclusion: Perceived threat can help cancer survivors understand the risk and seriousness of secondary cancer, thereby strengthening the relationship between cue to action and secondary cancer-preventive behaviors. Healthcare providers should provide accurate information as a cue to cancer survivors, enabling them to recognize the risk of secondary cancer.
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Purpose This study aimed to compare the lifestyle, self-rated health, and mental health of breast cancer survivors with those of the healthy people through a propensity-matched comparison, and identify factors affecting the mental health of breast cancer survivors.
Methods This study was a secondary analysis that used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), from 2015 to 2020. It included 47,118 participants, of which 134 breast cancer survivors and 268 healthy people were separated and analysed by 1:2 Propensity Score Matching (PSM), and complex sample logistic regression analysis was performed using SPSS and R programs.
Results Statistically significant differences were found in smoking rate, walking exercise rate, cancer screening rate, daily energy intake, and self-rated health between breast cancer survivors and healthy groups. After PSM, there were significant differences in the ratio of perceived stress, suicide plan, suicide attempts, and mental health counseling experiences between the healthy group and breast cancer survivors. As compared to the healthy group, breast cancer survivors had a significantly higher risk of mental health issues by 2.19 times. Self-rated health, household income, and number of household members were significant influencing factors affecting the mental health of breast cancer survivors.
Conclusion This study provides evidence of an increased mental health risk in breast cancer survivors compared with healthy women with no cancer. Mental health outcomes, such as stress, sleep disturbance, and suicidal ideation, have been reported post cancer treatment. Counselling and management strategies would be helpful for breast cancer survivors.
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Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine lifestyle behaviors, mental health, and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and identify the effects of lifestyle behaviors and mental health on the HRQoL of cancer survivors and general adults. Methods Secondary data analysis was conducted. The data used in the study were drawn from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII-2 (January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017).
A sample of 190 cancer survivors (mean age, 65.12 years; women, 63.7%) and 1,815 general adults (mean age, 52.67 years; women, 52.6%) was used, focusing on demographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors (including tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, and eating behavior), and mental health (including sleeping hours, stress, and depressive symptoms). Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and hierarchical stepwise multiple regression were performed to analyze the data. Results The overall mean of HRQoL for all the participants was 0.96±0.08 (0.93±0.11 for cancer survivors and 0.97±0.08 for general adults). For cancer survivors, age, depressive symptoms, and moderate intensity physical activity were associated with HRQoL (adjusted R 2 =.180, p<.001). For general adults, age, education level, economic activity, income level, walking, sodium intake, depressive symptoms, and stress were associated with HRQoL (adjusted R 2 =.165, p<.001). Conclusion Cancer survivors had lower HRQoL than general adults. Differences were found in the factors associated with HRQOL in cancer survivors and general adults. Therefore, customized health programs and policies should be developed and provided for each group to improve their HRQoL.
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PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the supportive care needs and quality of life of back-to-work breast cancer survivors, and determine the factors that affect their quality of life. METHODS Data were collected from 146 patients who had undergone surgery and treatment for breast cancer at Konyang University Hospital in Daejeon city and were receiving outpatient care from December 21, 2017 to November 30, 2018. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 21.0 program with descriptive statistics, an independent t-test, a one-way ANOVA, the Duncan test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS Back-to-work breast cancer survivors show higher physical and mental health indices, which reflect quality of life, when they have fewer physical supportive care needs. Additionally, their physical and mental health indices based on the characteristics of the illness differed according to the cancer stage. CONCLUSION It is necessary to develop and test the effectiveness of health education programs that meet the supportive care needs and improve the quality of life of breast cancer survivors returning to work.
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