Latent Profile Analysis of Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Patients with Gastric Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy

doi:10.12104/j.issn.1674-4748.2025.16.006

Abstract：Objective: To explore the latent class characteristics and influencing factors of fear of cancer recurrence in patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to select 183 patients with gastric cancer who received chemotherapy at a tertiary A hospital in Shanxi Province from September 2023 to April 2024 as the study subjects. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire and the Fear of Progression Questionnaire Short Form (FoP-Q-SF). Mplus 8.3 software was used for latent profile analysis to identify the latent classes of fear of cancer recurrence in patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy, and SPSS 21.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The latent profile analysis results showed that fear of cancer recurrence in patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy could be divided into two latent classes: the low fear of recurrence group (69.9%, n=128) and the high fear of recurrence group (30.1%, n=55). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that gender, number of chemotherapy sessions, and the severity of adverse reactions (such as nausea and vomiting) were influencing factors for the latent classes of fear of cancer recurrence in patients with gastric cancer (P<0.05). Conclusion: There are individual differences in fear of cancer recurrence among patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Female patients, those with more chemotherapy sessions, and those experiencing more severe adverse reactions have higher levels of fear of cancer recurrence. Clinical medical staff should pay more attention and manage these patients, providing them with more care and support to reduce their fear of cancer recurrence.