Patterns of Concerns Among Hematological Cancer Survivors

Advances in treatment for hematological cancers warrant greater attention on survivorship concerns.

The aims of this study were to describe survivorship concerns among hematological cancer survivors, identify subgroups of survivors with distinct classes of concerns, and examine sociodemographic and clinical differences across subgroups.

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from 1160 hematological cancer survivors, who rated their degree of concern regarding 20 physical, emotional, and practical changes. Clusters of concerns were identified using latent class analysis. Associations between respondent characteristics and cluster membership were calculated using multinomial logistic regression.

Survivors had a mean of 7.5 concerns (SD, 4.6; range, 0-19), the most frequent being fatigue/tiredness (85.4%); anxiety, stress, and worry about cancer returning (70.2%); and changes to concentration/memory (55.4%). Three distinct classes of concerns were identified: class 1 (low, 47.0%), characterized by low endorsement of most concerns, apart from fatigue; class 2 (moderate, 32.3%), characterized by high endorsement of a combination of concerns across domains; and class 3 (high, 20.7%), characterized by the highest number of concerns out of the 3 identified classes, including greater endorsement of concerns relating to sexual well-being. Class membership was differentiated by survivor age, sex, marital status, and diagnosis.

Three distinct patterns of concerns were detected in a large sample of hematological cancer survivors. Patterns of concerns could be differentiated by survivor characteristics.

Our study highlights the concerns experienced by hematological cancer survivors and provides support for a tailored biopsychosocial approach to survivorship care in this context.