Association of Breast Cancer Patient Education with Disease Understanding and Anxiety: Analysis Using the EORTC...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and is frequently associated with psychological distress. Patient education may improve patients' understanding of their disease and reduce anxiety levels. This secondary analysis utilized data from 188 breast cancer patients receiving treatment at a Portuguese oncology center. Patient-reported information regarding their own breast cancer disease, medical tests, treatments, and educational experiences was assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Information Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-INFO25). Anxiety was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Regression analyses were performed to examine whether information related to breast cancer disease, treatment, and medical tests predicted perceived information usefulness and whether perceived information usefulness predicted anxiety levels. Higher levels of information regarding patients' own breast cancer disease and treatment were significantly associated with greater perceived usefulness of patient education (p < 0.05). Increased perceived usefulness of information was significantly associated with lower anxiety levels (p = 0.007). No significant association was identified between patient age and anxiety levels. Greater perceived usefulness of patient education was associated with better disease and treatment understanding and lower anxiety. These findings support the potential value of tailored patient education as a component of supportive oncology care.