title: Occurrence of fatigue and associated factors in disease-free breast cancer patients without depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies on fatigue in disease-free breast cancer patients have consistently found a significant association between fatigue and depression; and some characteristics of this fatigue may be confused with and/or concealed by those of depression. To clarify the characteristics of fatigue in disease-free breast cancer patients, we examined the frequency of fatigue and associated factors in disease-free breast cancer patients without major depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-nine ambulatory breast cancer patients without major depression who had been disease-free for more than 3 years since their surgery completed the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS), a multidimensional scale assessing cancer-related fatigue. Participants also completed the Short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQR) for assessing their personalities. Sociodemographic, physical, and treatment-related factors were also obtained by interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that 36.7% of the patients exhibited fatigue and that fatigue was significantly associated with neuroticism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that a considerable number of disease-free breast cancer patients without major depression experience fatigue and that careful attention to those exhibiting high neuroticism may be of benefit in ameliorating their fatigue.
authors.affiliation: Psycho-Oncology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, 277-8577 Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akechi
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuyama
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Tomohito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imoto
authors.forename: Maiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujimori
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosaka
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uchitomi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D003863:Depression; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires