Psychological Coping Factors Associated With Breast Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Systematic Review of Recent Evidence for Stages 0 to III.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common, distressing, and difficult to treat symptom for both breast cancer patients and survivors. This review investigates psychological coping factors associated with breast CRF (BCRF) for women who are stage 0 to III breast cancer patients or survivors. A focus was made on active factors that can be practically targeted in a fatigue focused intervention aimed at providing immediate results. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PsycInfo, Scopus, and PubMed using variations of the keywords Psychology, Breast cancer, Fatigue, and Coping. Guidelines for systematic reviews were followed, and inter-rater reliability between 2 raters was conducted. Seven studies were finally selected out of 1610 publications. A preliminary heuristic psychological coping model was constructed based on the following results: Sense of coherence and reassurance of worth were negatively associated with total BCRF. Subjective/perceived stress, meaning focused coping, and breast-related stereotype threat were positively associated with total BCRF. Reassurance of worth, nurturance, and optimism were negatively associated with mental fatigue. Optimism was also negatively associated with reduced motivation. This research can inform interventions, therapy, and care development by gaining insight into evidence-based factors that can facilitate or hinder BCRF and by utilizing the constructed heuristic model. The factors identified in this research are consistent with previous research and should be tested for their efficacy in practical applications. A larger timeframe and a full picture of all perspectives can lead to a comprehensive psychological coping model and core article on the topic.