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The following is a summary of “Anxiety, depression and fear of cancer recurrence in uveal melanoma survivors and ophthalmologist/oncologist communication during survivorship in France – protocol of a prospective observational mixed-method study,” published in the November 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Müller et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study on the psychological impact of uveal melanoma (UM) surveillance. They examined how communication with doctors affects fear of recurrence (FCR) and quality of life (QoL). 

They recruited 250 patients with UM at high or low metastatic recurrence risk from a national reference center in France. They collected data at 2 points: at 6 months (T1) and 12 months (T2) post-treatment. At T1, patients and clinicians completed questionnaires on communication, health literacy, genomic testing knowledge, anxiety, depression, and QoL. At T2, patients repeated assessments using HADS, fear of cancer recurrence (FCRI), and EORTC QLQ tools. They planned in-depth interviews with around 25 patients to explore care experiences further. Multilevel analyses assessed the impact of information satisfaction on FCR and QoL. 

They found that communication satisfaction significantly impacted fear of cancer recurrence and QoL in survivors with UM. They recommended culturally adapted communication strategies for oncology surveillance in cases of poor prognosis. 

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-06265-2#Abs1