Screening for body image dissatisfaction in patients with advanced cancer: a pilot study

Cancer and its treatment can significantly affect appearance and body integrity. A number of studies have explored the impact of cancer and its treatment on body image, primarily in head and neck and breast cancer. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the construct of body image dissatisfaction and its measurement using a single question in patients with advanced cancer.

Outpatients with advanced cancer were recruited (n=81). Assessments included Body Image Scale (BIS), Appearance Schema Inventory (ASI-R), Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) with a total symptom distress score (TSDS) and two subscales scores (physical distress [PHS] and psychological distress [PSS]), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), and one question assessing the overall appearance satisfaction from the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). We also asked patients to rate the body image changes importance compared with five symptoms (pain, fatigue, depression, insomnia, lack of appetite).

Forty-seven (58%) patients had a BIS score >10 (body image dissatisfaction) with a median of 11 (first-third quartiles, Q1-Q3; 5-16) and a median ASI-R of 3.1 (Q1-Q3; 2.8-3.5). Sensitivity and specificity of ≤3 for body image dissatisfaction in the single overall appearance question using the BIS as a standard was 0.70 and 0.71, respectively. BIS score was significantly correlated with ASI-R (r=0.248; p=0.025), age (r=-0.225; p=0.043), HADS-A (r=0.522, p<0.001), HADS-D (r=0.422, p<0.001), PSS score (r=0.371, p=0.001), PHS score (r=0.356, p=0.001), TSDS score (r=0.416, p<0.001), and the overall appearance question (MBSRQ; r=-0.449, p<0.001).

Body image dissatisfaction was frequent and associated with symptom burden. A single item ≤3 has a sensitivity of 70% for body image satisfaction screening.