Distress, proinflammatory cytokines and self-esteem as predictors of quality of life in breast cancer survivors

Objective: To examine the extent to which anxiety and depressive symptoms, self-esteem and proinflammatory cytokines interact to significantly predict quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 134 breast cancer survivors. Hospital Anxiety and Depre...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pérez Tejada, Joana, Aizpurua Perez, Ibane, Labaka Etxeberria, Ainitze, Vegas Moreno, Oscar, Ugartemendia, Gurutze, Arregi Agirre, Amaia
Format: article
Publication Date:2020
Country:España
Institution:Universidad del País Vasco
Repository:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/77574
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/77574
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:breast cancer survivors
depression
quality of life
self-esteem
TNF-α
anxiety
Description
Summary:Objective: To examine the extent to which anxiety and depressive symptoms, self-esteem and proinflammatory cytokines interact to significantly predict quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 134 breast cancer survivors. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors questionnaire, which includes the generic quality of life (QOL) and the quality of life related to cancer (QOLRC) subscales, were administered. Plasma IL-6 and TNF-α levels were measured using ELISA kits. Moderation analyses were performed to study the influence of psychobiological variables on quality of life. Results: Anxiety and depressive symptoms, TNF-α predicted QOL scores, and both medium and high levels of TNF-α influenced the negative conditional effect of depressive symptoms on QOL. Anxiety symptoms and TNF-α was associated with QOLRC scores, and lower self-esteem predicted poorer QOLRC when women had high levels of TNF-α. Conclusions: These results highlight the booster effect of TNF-α for poorer quality of life in breast cancer survivors, both alone and in combination with depressive symptoms or low self-esteem. The study provides a framework for assessing subclinical markers, identifying vulnerable survivors and implementing psychological strategies to improve quality of life.