Fear of cancer recurrence and change in hair cortisol concentrations in partners of breast cancer survivors

Purpose Partners of breast cancer (BC) survivors report high rates of psychological distress including fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). Research suggests that partners may have poorer physical health outcomes than the general population, but little research has examined the physiological biomarkers by which distress may impact partner health outcomes. The current study examined the associations between FCR and changes in hair cortisol among BC partners. Methods Male partners (N = 73) of early-stage BC survivors provided hair samples during two visits, one after completion of survivors’ adjuvant treatment (T1) and again 6 months later (T2). Two subscales from the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory and one subscale from the Concerns about Recurrence Scale comprised a latent FCR factor at T1. A latent change score model was used to examine change in cortisol as a function of FCR. Results Partners were on average 59.65 years of age (SD = 10.53) and non-Hispanic White (83%). Latent FCR at T1 was positively associated (b = 0.08, SE = 0.03, p = .004, standardized β = .45) with change in latent hair cortisol from T1 to T2. Conclusions Results indicated that greater FCR was associated with increases in hair cortisol in the months following adjuvant treatment. This is one of the first studies to examine the physiological correlates of FCR that may impact health outcomes in BC partners. Implications for Cancer Survivors. Findings highlight the need for further research into the relationship between FCR and its physiological consequences. Interventions to address partner FCR are needed and may aid in improving downstream physical health outcomes.

Description

This article was originally published in Journal of Cancer Survivorship. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-024-01631-1. © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This research was featured in UDaily on 12/12/2024 at: https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2024/december/increased-cortisol-in-partners-of-breast-cancer-survivors-jean-philippe-laurenceau/

Keywords

breast cancer, fear of cancer recurrence, hair cortisol, intimate partners, change models

Citation

Fenech, A.L., Soriano, E.C., Asok, A. et al. Fear of cancer recurrence and change in hair cortisol concentrations in partners of breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-024-01631-1

URI

https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/35691

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