Reports an error in "Fear of cancer recurrence therapy (FORT): A randomized controlled trial" by Christine Maheu, Sophie Lebel, Lori J. Bernstein, Christine Courbasson, Mina Singh, Sarah E. Ferguson, Cheryl Harris, Lynne Jolicoeur, Lorena Baku, Linda Muraca, Agnihotram V. Ramanakumar, Frederic Lamonde, Monique Lefebvre, Christina Tomei, Brittany Mutsaers, Scott Secord, Joanne Power, Nancy Drummond, Maude Hébert and Rajvi J. Wani (Health Psychology, 2023[Mar], Vol 42[3], 182-194). In the original article, in Table 2, the column headings were misaligned, such that the data presented in the columns did not correspond with the correct headings. The table has been updated with the correct heading alignments, and all data are now displayed correctly. These corrections do not alter the results or change the conclusions of the research. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2023-49863-005).
Objective: Most fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) interventions have small effects, and few target FCR. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast and gynecological cancer survivors evaluated the efficacy of a cognitive-existential fear of recurrence therapy (FORT) compared to an attention placebo control group (living well with cancer [LWWC]) on FCR.
Method: One hundred and sixty-four women with clinical levels of FCR and cancer distress were randomly assigned to 6-weekly, 120 min FORT (n = 80) or LWWC (n = 84) group sessions. They completed questionnaires at baseline (T1), posttreatment (T2; primary endpoint), 3 (T3), and 6 months (T4) posttreatment. Generalized linear models were used to compare group differences in the fear of cancer recurrence inventory (FCRI) total score and secondary outcomes.
Results: FORT participants experienced greater reductions from T1 to T2 on FCRI total with a between-group difference of -9.48 points (p = .0393), resulting in a medium effect of -0.530, with a maintained effect at T3 (p = .0330) but not at T4. For the secondary outcomes, improvements were in favor of FORT, including FCRI triggers (p = .0208), FCRI coping (p = .0351), cognitive avoidance (p = .0155), need for reassurance from physicians (p = .0117), and quality of life (mental health; p = .0147).
Conclusions: This RCT demonstrated that FORT, compared to an attention placebo control group, resulted in a greater reduction in FCR posttreatment and at 3 months posttreatment in women with breast and gynecological cancer, indicating its potential as a new treatment strategy. We recommend a booster session to sustain gains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).