Fear of cancer recurrence is related to the efficacy of immunotherapy and quality of life in patients with NSCLC during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Xiangxiang Yin; Yuhang Cheng; Senbang Yao; Junxu Wu; Shaochun Liu; Wen Li; Sheng Yu; Lingxue Tang; Yanyan Jing; Lulian Pang; Huaidong Cheng

Fear of cancer recurrence is related to the efficacy of immunotherapy and quality of life in patients with NSCLC during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Am J Cancer Res. 2022 Aug 15;12(8):4040-4049. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiangxiang Yin^{1

2}, Yuhang Cheng³, Senbang Yao^{1

2}, Junxu Wu¹, Shaochun Liu^{1

2}, Wen Li^{1

2}, Sheng Yu^{1

2}, Lingxue Tang^{1

2}, Yanyan Jing^{1

2}, Lulian Pang^{1

2}, Huaidong Cheng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University Hefei, Anhui, China.
² Cancer and Cognition Laboratory, Anhui Medical University Hefei, Anhui, China.
³ Department of Public Health, Cancer Hospital, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences Hefei, Anhui, China.

PMID: 36119842
PMCID: PMC9442025

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), making the fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) more pronounced. We explored the effects of FCR on immunotherapy efficacy and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic in China among the 124 NSCLC patients enrolled in this study. Quality of life and immunotherapy efficacy were compared between high- and low-FCR groups after completing 4-6 courses of treatment or cancer progression. Worse immunotherapy efficacy and quality of life were reported for the high-FCR group than for the low-FCR group. These findings emphasize the need to pay close attention to the level of FCR in NSCLC patients. Efforts should be taken to alleviate FCR levels among NSCLC patients. Moreover, research is needed to investigate the possible link between immunotherapy efficacy and FCR.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; NSCLC; fear of cancer recurrence; quality of life.