The role of interpretation biases and symptom burden in fear of cancer recurrence/progression among ovarian cancer survivors.

Abstract

Models of fear of cancer recurrence or progression (FCR/P) suggest that the way in which people interpret ambiguous physical symptoms is an important contributor to the development and maintenance of FCR/P, but research has not investigated this claim. The aim of this study is to fill that gap. This was a cross-sectional study. Sixty-two women with ovarian cancer reported completed measures of FCR/P, an interpretation bias task and a symptom checklist. The healthy control group (n=96) completed the interpretation bias task. Women with ovarian cancer were more likely to interpret ambiguous words as health-related compared to healthy women (p<0.001; Cohen's d=1.28). In women with cancer, FCR/P was associated with overall symptom burden (r=0.25; p=0.04) and interpretation bias score (r=0.41; p=0.001), but interpretation bias and symptom burden were not related (r=0.22; p=0.09). Interpretation bias did not moderate the relationship between symptoms and FCR/P. We found that women with ovarian cancer interpreted ambiguous words as health related more often compared to women without cancer, and this bias was greater for women with higher FCR/P. Symptom burden was also associated with FCR/P. However, interpretation bias did not moderate the relationship between physical symptoms and FCR/P. Hence, the central tenet of the Cancer Threat Interpretation model was not supported in women with ovarian cancer.