Heterogeneity of posttraumatic stress, depression, and fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors: a latent class analysis

Purpose: Breast cancer survivors may demonstrate elevated psychological distress, which can also hinder adherence to survivorship care plans. Our goal was to study heterogeneity of behavioral health and functioning in breast cancer survivors, and identify both risk and protective factors to improve targets for wellness interventions.

Methods: Breast cancer survivors (n = 187) consented to complete self-reported psychological measures and to access their medical records. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify heterogeneous subpopulations based on levels of depression, post-traumatic stress, fear of cancer recurrence, cancer-related pain, and fatigue. Multinomial logistic regression and auxiliary analysis in a 3-step modeling conditional approach was used to identify characteristics of the group based on demographics, treatment history and characteristics, and current medication prescriptions.

Results: Three subpopulations of breast cancer survivors were identified from the LCA: a modal Resilient group (48.2%, n = 90), a Moderate Symptoms group (34%, n = 65), and an Elevated Symptoms group (n = 17%, n = 32) with clinically-relevant impairment. Results from the logistic regression indicated that individuals in the Elevated Symptoms group were less likely to have a family history of breast cancer; they were more likely to be closer to time of diagnosis and younger, have received chemotherapy and psychotropic prescriptions, and have higher BMI. Survivors in the Elevated Symptoms group were also less likely to be prescribed estrogen inhibitors than the Moderate Symptoms group.

Conclusions: This study identified subgroups of breast cancer survivors based on behavioral, psychological, and treatment-related characteristics, with implications for targeted monitoring and survivorship care plans.

Implications for cancer survivors: Results showed the majority of cancer survivors were resilient, with minimal psychological distress. Results also suggest the importance of paying special attention to younger patients getting chemotherapy, especially those without a family history of breast cancer.