Fear of cancer recurrence mediates the association between symptom burden and readiness for return to work in patients with lung cancer

作者：Siyu Guan, Yan Wang, Jing Chen, Mingfang Li, Zhiqi Yang, Y. H. Xie, Xinyi Li, Yaqian Huang, Yuqi Qiu, Jie Mei, Fangjia Shen, Yueli Wang, Jun Yan · 发表于：Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.apjon.2025.100816 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Cancer survivorship and care、Cancer-related cognitive impairment studies、Cardiac Health and Mental Health

Objective Readiness for return to work (RRTW) is a critical stage in the return-to-work process and deserves significant attention. Researchers have found that RRTW is related to symptom burden and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). This study aimed to (1) describe RRTW among lung cancer patients, (2) examine the relationships among symptom burden, FCR, and RRTW, and (3) explore the mediating role of FCR between symptom burden and RRTW. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 208 lung cancer patients from February 2023 to May 2025 at a tertiary hospital in China. The Readiness for Return-To-Work (RRTW) Scale, the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF), M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Chinese Version (MDASI-C) and the MDASI Lung Cancer-Specific Module (MDAS-LC) were used. Results The contemplation dimension scored highest (3.36 ± 1.09) in readiness for return to work, and the actions-evaluation dimension scored lowest (2.57 ± 0.97). Symptom burden was significantly positively associated with the actions-behavior dimension of RRTW ( r = 0.183, P < 0.01). FCR showed positive correlations with all four RRTW dimensions ( r = 0.147-0.272, P < 0.05). The structural equation model showed that FCR significantly mediated the relationship between symptom burden and RRTW. Conclusions FCR had a significant mediating effect on symptom burden and RRTW. These findings highlight the importance of assessing symptom burden and fear of cancer recurrence in postoperati...