The role of metacognition and its indirect effect through cognitive attentional syndrome on fear of cancer recurrence trajectories: A longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study mapped distinct trajectories of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) over 12 months among patients with breast (BC) or colorectal (CRC) cancer, and examined if metacognition, indirectly via attentional bias, intrusive thoughts and avoidance (hallmarks of cognitive attentional syndrome; CAS) predicted FCR trajectory membership. METHODS: Two hundred and seventy BC (n = 163) or CRC (n = 107) patients were assessed at 8-weeks, 3-, 6-, and 12-months postsurgery on a measure of FCR (FCRI-SF). Metacognition (MCQ-30), Intrusive and Avoidant Thoughts (CIES-R) and attentional bias (dot-probe tasks) were assessed at baseline. Latent growth mixture modeling identified FCR trajectories. Fully-adjusted Multinomial Logistic Regression identified whether direct and indirect effects of metacognition through CAS determined FCR trajectory membership. RESULTS: Three distinct FCR trajectories were identified, namely, low-stable (62.4%), high-stable (29.2%), and recovery (8.3%). Negative beliefs about worry, cognitive confidence, and age predicted FCR trajectories (χ2 (6) = 38.31, P<.001). Compared with Low-stable group, Recovery FCR patients held greater Negative beliefs about worry (OR = 1.13, P = .035) and High-stable FCR patients reported poorer Cognitive confidence (OR = 1.12, P = .004). The effect of Negative beliefs about worry was partially mediated by avoidance (ß = .06, 95% CIs 0.03-0.12) and fully mediated by intrusive thoughts (ß = .14, 95% CIs 0.08-0.20). Attentional bias did not predict FCR trajectories. CONCLUSIONS: While most patients experienced low level of FCR, 3 in 10 persistently worried about cancer returning over the first 12-months postsurgery. Modifying metacognitive knowledge to interrupt maladaptive cognitive processing including intrusion and avoidance may be an effective therapeutic intervention for patients at risk of persistent FCR.

Fear of cancer recurrence among Chinese cancer survivors: Prevalence and associations with metacognition and neuroticism.

OBJECTIVE: Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) represents a chronic burden for many cancer survivors. We determined FCR prevalence and potential correlates, specifically metacognitive styles and neuroticism among Chinese cancer survivors with breast or colorectal cancer. METHODS: This study included 285 Chinese patients with breast (N = 173) and colorectal (N = 112) cancers at 8-week postsurgery. Participants completed a set of baseline questionnaires evaluating FCR (Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory-Short Form [FCRI-SF]), metacognition (Metacognitions Questionnaire-30), and neuroticism (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire). Scores of 13 to 21 were indicative of subclinical FCR on the FCRI-SF. Scores greater than or equal to 22 indicated clinically significant levels of FCR. Fully adjusted multinomial logistic regressions identified correlates of subclinical and clinically significant FCR. RESULTS: Respectively, 26.0% (n = 74) and 11.2% (n = 32) achieved scores indicating subclinical and clinically significant FCR. Expressing significantly more positive (OR = 1.21, P = .003) and negative (OR = 1.19, P = .005) beliefs about worry was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting subclinical FCR. Both higher neuroticism (OR = 1.28, P = .003) and more negative beliefs about worry (OR = 1.19, P = 0.035) were associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing clinically significant FCR. CONCLUSIONS: Positive and negative metacognitions may play an important role in the development of subclinical FCR. In particular, negative metacognition and neuroticism may elevate FCR from subclinical to a clinical level. The findings give insight into the identification of cancer survivors with subclinical or clinical FCR and aid the development of interventions aimed at changing metacognitive beliefs in order to manage FCR.