{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T17:47:52Z","timestamp":1782841672153,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Cancer"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a common psychological disorder among patients with cancer. In patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer, fear and concern about recurrence often influence treatment decision-making. However, the prevalence of FCR before treatment and its key risk factors\u2014such as age, sleep quality, economic status, self-disclosure, and social support\u2014remain unclear.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n This study aims to describe the prevalence and severity of FCR before treatment in patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer and analyze its predictive factors, thereby providing a scientific basis for interventions to reduce such fear.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer prior to treatment at a specialized oncology hospital in Guangdong Province, China, between February 2023 and July 2023. Sociodemographic data were collected, including age, gender, ethnicity, religious belief, education level, and marital status. Clinical data included pathological stage, tumor type, and family history of cancer. The Distress Disclosure Index, the Chinese version of the Medical Social Support Scale, and the short form of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire were used. Univariate analyses and bivariate correlations were conducted to explore relationships between variables. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of FCR.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n A total of 350 patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer were enrolled. Among the participants, 48.3% (n=169) experienced FCR before initiating treatment. The mean total score for FCR was 33.44 (SD 8.00). Age, sleep quality, financial burden, monthly household income per capita, family relationships, self-disclosure, and social support accounted for 33.5% (\n R<\/jats:italic>\n \u00b2) of the variance in FCR.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n FCR prior to treatment is common and relatively severe among patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Health care professionals should implement targeted interventions to promote self-disclosure and strengthen social support networks to alleviate FCR, facilitate informed treatment decision-making, and improve patients\u2019 psychological readiness for treatment. The findings of this study underscore the urgent need for early identification and management of FCR in patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer. High levels of pretreatment FCR may impair patients\u2019 psychological well-being and influence treatment decision-making, potentially leading to suboptimal treatment choices. Health care professionals should implement targeted interventions that promote self-disclosure and strengthen social support networks to alleviate FCR. These measures can enhance patients\u2019 psychological readiness for treatment, facilitate informed decision-making, and ultimately improve clinical outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/89346","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T16:40:08Z","timestamp":1772642408000},"page":"e89346-e89346","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fear of Cancer Recurrence Before Treatment in Patients Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer: Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2089-3045","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yun","family":"Ding","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5743-995X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Huiting","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4262-3199","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qiaoling","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4782-9900","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lijuan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1680-7637","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Huiying","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1","unstructured":"Cancer today. Global Cancer Observatory. URL: https:\/\/gco.iarc.who.int\/today\/en [Accessed 19-03-2026]"},{"issue":"12","key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1092","DOI":"10.19401\/j.cnki.1007-3639.2023.12.004","article-title":"Guidelines for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment by China Anti-Cancer Association (2024 Edition)","volume":"33","author":"The Society of Breast Cancer China Anti-Cancer Association, Breast Oncology Group of the Oncology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association","journal-title":"China Oncol"},{"issue":"1","key":"R3","first-page":"32","volume":"32","author":"Butow","journal-title":"Oncology (Williston Park)"},{"issue":"2","key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1007\/s11764-009-0082-5","article-title":"Emotional distress impacts fear of the future among breast cancer survivors not the reverse","volume":"3","author":"Lebel","journal-title":"J Cancer Surviv"},{"issue":"2","key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1002\/cncr.33921","article-title":"Trajectories of fear of cancer recurrence in young breast cancer survivors","volume":"128","author":"Schapira","journal-title":"Cancer"},{"issue":"3","key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"799","DOI":"10.1007\/s00268-020-05814-6","article-title":"Determinants of breast-conserving therapy in the Asian population: a systematic review","volume":"45","author":"Galeano Machuca","journal-title":"World J Surg"},{"issue":"1","key":"R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/cam4.6889","article-title":"Fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors carrying a BRCA1\/2 mutation: a qualitative study","volume":"13","author":"Savard","journal-title":"Cancer Med"},{"issue":"1","key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.52.1.1","article-title":"Social cognitive theory: an agentic perspective","volume":"52","author":"Bandura","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"issue":"1","key":"R9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-023-15387-3","article-title":"\u201cWhen they are all grown, I will tell them\u201d: experience and perceptions of parental self-disclosure of HIV status to children in Nairobi, Kenya","volume":"23","author":"Mugo","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"issue":"28","key":"R10","first-page":"3988","volume":"20","author":"Jingjing","journal-title":"Chinese General Practice Nursing"},{"issue":"6","key":"R11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1301","DOI":"10.1002\/pon.5082","article-title":"The role of daily couple communication in the relationship between illness representation and fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors and their spouses","volume":"28","author":"Xu","journal-title":"Psychooncology"},{"issue":"14","key":"R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.3870\/j.issn.1001-4152.2022.14.086","article-title":"Self\u2011disclosure intervention for patients undergoing chemotherapy following breast cancer surgery","volume":"37","author":"Chen","journal-title":"J Nurs Sci"},{"issue":"11","key":"R13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1610","DOI":"10.3761\/j.issn.0254-1769.2019.11.002","article-title":"Application and effect evaluation of marital self-disclosure intervention on the fear of cancer recurrence in young breast cancer patients","volume":"54","author":"Xianxian","journal-title":"Chin J Nurs"},{"issue":"7","key":"R14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1319","DOI":"10.1111\/jog.13978","article-title":"Factors influencing fear of cancer recurrence in patients with breast cancer: evidence from a survey in Yancheng, China","volume":"45","author":"Niu","journal-title":"J Obstet Gynaecol Res"},{"key":"R15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.864129","article-title":"Social support and fear of cancer recurrence among Chinese breast cancer survivors: the mediation role of illness uncertainty","volume":"13","author":"Yu","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"issue":"14","key":"R16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.16460\/j.issn1008-9969.2021.14.001","article-title":"Influence factors of cancer recurrence fear in breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis","volume":"28","author":"Jin","journal-title":"J Nurs"},{"issue":"4","key":"R17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"378","DOI":"10.3761\/j.issn.0254-1769.2010.04.037","article-title":"The sample size estimation in quantitative nursing research","volume":"45","author":"Ni","journal-title":"Chin J Nurs"},{"issue":"3","key":"R18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.13109\/zptm.2006.52.3.274","article-title":"Fear of progression in breast cancer patients\u2014validation of the short form of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire (FoP-Q-SF)","volume":"52","author":"Mehnert","journal-title":"Z Psychosom Med Psychother"},{"issue":"8","key":"R19","first-page":"1020","volume":"15","author":"Wu","journal-title":"Chin Nurs Manag"},{"issue":"1","key":"R20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1521\/jscp.20.1.41.22254","article-title":"Measuring the tendency to conceal versus disclose psychological distress","volume":"20","author":"Kahn","journal-title":"J Soc Clin Psychol"},{"key":"R21","unstructured":"Li X . A study on the relationship between adult attachment, self-disclosure, and depression in college students [Master\u2019s Thesis]. Hebei Normal University; 2009."},{"issue":"6","key":"R22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"705","DOI":"10.1016\/0277-9536(91)90150-b","article-title":"The MOS social support survey","volume":"32","author":"Sherbourne","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"R23","unstructured":"Li H . Psychometric measurement of the simplified chinese medical outcomes study social support survey (MOS-SSS-c) and its application in HIV\/AIDS patients [Master\u2019s Thesis]. Central South University; 2012."},{"issue":"9","key":"R24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0308907","article-title":"Correlation between symptom experience and fear of cancer recurrence in postoperative breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in China: a cross-sectional study","volume":"19","author":"Han","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"6","key":"R25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2403","DOI":"10.1111\/jan.16009","article-title":"Exploring fear of cancer recurrence and related factors among breast cancer patients: a cross-sectional study","volume":"80","author":"Li","journal-title":"J Adv Nurs"},{"key":"R26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.12102\/j.issn.1009-6493.2022.22.012","article-title":"Latent profile analysis of fear of cancer recurrence of patients with breast cancer","volume":"22","author":"Zhang","journal-title":"Chin Nurs Res"},{"issue":"6","key":"R27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.11622\/smedj.2020007","article-title":"Fear of cancer recurrence among cancer survivors in Singapore","volume":"62","author":"Mahendran","journal-title":"Singap Med J"},{"issue":"19","key":"R28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/MD.0000000000025904","article-title":"The correlation between intimate relationship, self-disclosure, and adaptability among colorectal cancer enterostomy patients","volume":"100","author":"Du","journal-title":"Medicine (Baltimore)"},{"issue":"9","key":"R29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4173","DOI":"10.1007\/s00520-019-05245-7","article-title":"A predictive model of fear of cancer recurrence for patients undergoing chemotherapy","volume":"28","author":"Hong","journal-title":"Support Care Cancer"}],"container-title":["JMIR Cancer"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/cancer.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e89346","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T17:15:21Z","timestamp":1782839721000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/cancer.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e89346"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]]},"references-count":29,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2196\/89346","relation":{},"ISSN":["2369-1999"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2369-1999","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]]},"article-number":"v12i12e89346"}}