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Prevalence and severity of scanxiety in people with advanced cancers: a multicentre survey

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Abstract

Purpose

Scan-associated anxiety (‘scanxiety’) is a problem for people with advanced cancer. We aimed to determine the prevalence, severity and associations of scanxiety in this population.

Methods

People with advanced cancer and a computed tomography scan within the last 4 months completed a multicentre survey including self-rated presence (yes/no) and severity (distress thermometer, 0–10) of scanxiety, state anxiety (STAI-6), clinical anxiety and depression (HADS), and fear of progression (FOP-Q-SF). Associations with scanxiety were evaluated.

Results

There were 222 participants: mean age 64 years (range 26 to 91), female (61%), most common cancer types (breast 37%, lung 19%, colorectal 16%) and > 1 year since cancer diagnosis (82%). Sixty-two percent had a scan within the last month, and 70% reported waiting > 2 days for the result. Over half (55%) of participants experienced scanxiety. On multivariable analysis, scanxiety was more prevalent in participants who were younger (mean age 62 years with v 66 years without scanxiety, p = 0.02) and more remote (v major city, OR 2.6, p = 0.04). Among participants with scanxiety, the mean severity score was 6 (range 1–10) with peak severity occurring when waiting for scan results. On multivariable analysis, scanxiety was 1.2 points higher in participants who had been diagnosed within the past year (v > 1 year, p = 0.04) and was higher in participants who had higher STAI-6 scores (β = 0.06, p = 0.004).

Conclusion

Scanxiety is common and can be severe. Strategies to reduce scanxiety are needed.

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Availability of data and material

Data from this study are available in the article and its online supplementary material.

Code availability

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the contribution of patients involved in this study, from Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Campbelltown Hospital, Dubbo Base Hospital and Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) Review and Survey Group. We also acknowledge the support from the Psycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Oncology, Concord Cancer Centre, 1A Hospital Road, Concord, NSW, 2139, Australia

    Kim Tam Bui, Belinda E. Kiely & Prunella Blinman

  2. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Kim Tam Bui, Belinda E. Kiely & Prunella Blinman

  3. NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Belinda E. Kiely & Chris Brown

  4. Medical Oncology, Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia

    Belinda E. Kiely & Kay Xu

  5. Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Haryana M. Dhillon

  6. Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-Based Decision-Making, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Haryana M. Dhillon

  7. Medical Oncology, Alan Coates Cancer Centre, Dubbo, NSW, Australia

    Mohsen Shafiei

Authors
  1. Kim Tam Bui
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  2. Belinda E. Kiely
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  3. Haryana M. Dhillon
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  4. Chris Brown
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  5. Kay Xu
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  6. Mohsen Shafiei
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  7. Prunella Blinman
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Contributions

KTB, BEK, HMD, PB and CB contributed to the study conception and design. Recruitment and survey distribution was performed by KTB, BEK, KX, MS and PB. Data analysis was performed by KTB and CB. The first draft of the manuscript was written by KTB and all authors reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kim Tam Bui.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee—Concord Repatriation General Hospital (2019/ETH8007). The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Reporting followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was implied by return of the survey.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Conflict of interest

Financial interests: BEK reports receipt of honoraria for advisory boards and educational presentations as well as travel and meeting expenses from Roche, receipt of honoraria for educational presentations from Novartis. HMD reports honoraria paid to their institution for educational presentations from MSD and BMS and advisory board by MSD. KTB, PB and CB declare they have no relevant financial interests to disclose.

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Bui, K.T., Kiely, B.E., Dhillon, H.M. et al. Prevalence and severity of scanxiety in people with advanced cancers: a multicentre survey. Support Care Cancer 30, 511–519 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06454-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06454-9

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