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Treatment anxiety in breast cancer patients

  • Gynecologic Oncology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

The aim of the present study was to determine and evaluate the levels of anxiety of breast cancer patients according to the state of treatment, age and education level, as well as the anxiety potential of certain procedures during breast cancer treatment.

Method

148 breast cancer patients participated in this prospective cohort study and filled out the questionnaires including the Spielberger state-trait-anxiety-inventory, as well as questions based to stress triggering procedures during breast cancer therapy. The testing was accomplished with the Mann–Whitney U test, the significance level was set to 0.05.

Results

Patients who appeared for tumor board decision showed the highest state-anxiety levels (55.79 SD ± 18.73) followed by patients undergoing surgery (50.24 SD ± 13.84). Patients already undergoing chemotherapy had lower state-anxiety levels than the group of all other patients (p = 0.012). Women undergoing chemotherapy showed lower anxiety levels relating to many procedures of breast cancer treatment. The 25% quartile of patients with the highest levels in the trait score showed a significant poorer education level (p = 0.009). Age showed no statistical influence on the anxiety level of breast cancer patients. 

Conclusion

Patients with probably high anxiety levels (younger age, low education level, and those appearing for frightening procedures) should receive extra careful clarification and treatment support such as a psycho-oncologist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Innsbruck, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Julian Frederik Wagner

  2. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical Campus Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, 26133, Oldenburg, Germany

    Dörte Lüdders & Constanze Banz-Jansen

  3. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck, 23538, Luebeck, Germany

    Friederike Hoellen & Achim Rody

Authors
  1. Julian Frederik Wagner
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  2. Dörte Lüdders
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  3. Friederike Hoellen
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  4. Achim Rody
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  5. Constanze Banz-Jansen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julian Frederik Wagner.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declares that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Wagner, J.F., Lüdders, D., Hoellen, F. et al. Treatment anxiety in breast cancer patients. Arch Gynecol Obstet 299, 1365–1371 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-018-05038-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-018-05038-z

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