Targeted Assessments May Be Needed for Some Patients With Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma

Targeted assessments and interventions may be warranted to address a high level of distress experienced by patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to data presented at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, held in San Francisco, California.

In the first study of its kind, researchers quantified the degree of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) among patients and survivors with localized RCC. The investigators examined results from an international survey that was completed by 1150 patients, using an online platform devised by the nonprofit patient advocacy group KCCure. A cohort of 412 patients with localized disease were assessed with the FCR-7 (a 7-item measure, ranging from 0 to 28).

Cutoff scores were 17 for a moderate level of FCR and 27 for a severe level of FCR. In this cohort, 79% were female (median age, 54) and 58% were well-educated. Most of the patients were from the United States (85%); 4% of patients were from Canada and 2% were from Germany. At diagnosis, 56% of participants had stage I disease, 19% had stage II disease, and 24% had stage III disease.

The researchers reported that 55% of participants had a moderate or severe level of FCR, with higher levels of FCR more likely to be reported by younger patients (P =.001) and female patients (P =.004).

They hypothesize these results may be because “women may be more open to disclosing emotional symptoms and younger patients are still to pass through many life milestones and thus fear may be more pronounced.”

Disclosure: Multiple authors declared affiliations with industry. Please refer to the original abstract for a full list of disclosures.

Reference

Bergerot CD, Battle D, Philip EJ, et al. Fear of cancer recurrence among patients and survivors diagnosed with localized renal cell carcinoma. J Clin Oncol. 2020;38(suppl 6):abstr 649.