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Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), anxiety, and depression are common psychological disturbances that frequently occur together among cancer patients. This study investigated network connectivity between FCR, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in a large representative sample of breast cancer patients.This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study of 803 women with breast cancer. All participants completed the 4-item FCR scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Network analysis was conducted to investigate the network structure, central symptoms, bridge symptoms, and network stability of these disturbances.The generated network model indicated that anxiety and depression symptom communities were well-connected with each other, while FCR emerged as a distinct cluster with only a few weak links to anxiety and depression communities. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were more central than FCR symptoms were in the model. 'Having trouble relaxing' (#GAD4, strength = 1.147) was the most central node within the whole network, and 'strong feelings about recurrence' (#FCR4, strength = 0.531) was the least central node. Several anxiety symptoms (e.g., 'feeling afraid', 'uncontrollable worry', and 'restlessness') acted as important bridging symptoms connecting FCR, depression and anxiety communities. 'Uncontrollable worry' (#GAD2) had the highest node-specific predictive betweenness value. The network stability of this model was high.Depression and anxiety symptoms are highly interactive with each other among women with breast cancer. Conversely, FCR may have attenuated relations with anxiety and depression communities and emerged as a relatively independent, unique experience. Anxiety symptoms, particularly 'uncontrollable worry', acted as important trans-diagnostic symptoms that connected different communities. Findings suggested interventions to alleviate excessive worries and enhance feelings of personal control might be helpful in preventing or reducing related symptoms of FCR, anxiety and depression.

Background Since the middle of March, the COVID-19 outbreak has been well contained in China. The prevention and control measures for the outbreak have been downgraded to a normalized level. However, until now, the change in level of psychological health amongst perinatal women during the remission phase of the COVID-19 outbreak has not been investigated in China. The aim of this current study was to assess the symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia and quality of life (QOL) in perinatal women and to identify potential risk factors associated with these symptoms. Methods This was a cross-sectional, hospital-based survey conducted between March 25th till June 5th, 2020 in southern China. Convenient sampling method was adopted. Women’s anxiety, depression, insomnia symptoms and QOL was examined through standardized measurements. Multivariate logistic regression and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted for the same. Results A total of 625 perinatal women completed the study; of them, 195 women (31.2%, 95%CI=27.56%–34.84%) reported anxiety, 120 (19.2%, 95%CI=16.10%–22.30%) reported depression, and 87 (13.9%, 95%CI=11.20%–16.64%) experienced symptoms of insomnia. Previous adverse experiences during pregnancy was a significant risk factor for anxiety (OR=1.628, 95%CI=1.069–2.480, P=0.023), depression (OR=1.853, 95%CI=1.153–2.977, P=0.011), and insomnia (OR=2.160, 95%CI=1.290-3.616, P=0.003). Participants having infected friends/families/colleagues were more likely to report anxiety (OR=2.195, 95%CI=1.245–3.871, P=0.007) and depression (OR=2.666, 95%CI=1.482–4.794, P=0.001). Those women whose regular check-ups were severely interrupted by the COVID-19 were also more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety (OR=2.935, 95%CI=1.701–5.062, P

Objective: Suicide is one of the main reasons cited behind the death rate of cancer, and suicidal ideation (SI) is the first step towards it. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associates of suicidal ideation in newly-diagnosed Chinese cancer patients. Methods: This multicenter study was conducted from January 2018 to September 2019. Eligible participants were asked to complete a Case Record Form (CRF), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), Fear of Cancer Recurrence Questionnaire (FCRQ-7), and McGill Pain Questionnaire-Visual Analogue Scale (MPQ-VAS). Univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted for assessment. Results: Out of 603 patients, 91 (15.1%, 95%CI: 12.23%-17.96%) reported suicidal ideation in the last two weeks. Physical comorbidities (OR=1.808, P=0.039), childhood adversity experience (OR=5.999, P=0.001), cancer pain (OR=1.828, P=0.047), depression (OR=2.811, P=0.013) and anxiety (OR=6.532, P

Background Pain is one of the most burdensome and prevalent symptoms cancer patient report and it has severe negative impact on patient’s quality of life. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of pain and to test the association between demographic, clinical, psychological factors, and self-assessed pain in Chinese cancer population. Methods A total of 553 cancer patients were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Patient’s basic demographic data was collected by a study-designed information sheet, and patient’s pain, sleep disturbance and psychological distress were assessed by several validated measurements (MPQ-SF, AIS, FoP-Q-SF, PHQ-9, and GAD-7). Descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. Results Of the 553 patients, 411 (74.32%) patients reported that they experience some degree of pain. Fear of progression, anxiety, insomnia, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with different subscales and the overall pain score in bivariate correlation matrix. Insomnia, depressive symptoms, and fear of cancer progression were significant independent factors of cancer pain on multivariate analyses. Conclusion Psychological factors play a great role in the relationship between objective pathophysiology and patient’s subjective experience of pain. It is important to evaluate each individual in detail with respect to psychological distress and pain severity when planning treatment and rehabilitation.