Causal Attributions in Breast Cancer Patients Planning to Undergo Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore causal attributions among Korean breast cancer patients who were planning to undergo adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) as well as the relationships between patient demographic and clinical characteristics and their causal attributions. Causal attributions were assessed with an open-ended response item, which asked patients to list what they thought were the three most important causal factors of their illness. The relationships between patient characteristics and causal attributions were determined through univariate analysis, and the relationships between causal attributions were obtained using social network analysis. A total of 299 participants provided 707 responses. Stress, diet, and exercise were believed to be the three most likely causes of breast cancer. There were no significant differences between causal attributions and the age, education level, marital status, or cancer stage of patients. However, there were differences in the associations between personality, genetics, and reproductive history and patient-identified causal attributions according to the patients’ family history of cancer. Patients with a family history of cancer were more likely to believe that personality and genetics/family history were causes of breast cancer compared to patients without such a history. Therefore, it is necessary to educate patients to perceive stress and lifestyle-related factors as modifiable causal factors in order to have a positive effect on their adherence to AET.

New Real Dataset Creation to Develop an Intelligent System for Predicting Chemotherapy Protocols

“…However, the most common causes of breast cancer were found to be: (i) stress and worry, (ii) diet and eating habits, (iii) altered immunity, (iv) overwork and, (iv) poor previous medical care. Similarly, [3] found that stress and lifestyleassociated factors (e.g. diet, exercise and weight control) are the predominant causal agents of breast cancer.…”

“…The exact causes of breast cancer are unknown. They are complex, multifactorial and depend on personal characteristics [3]. The study [4] reported that environmental factors are most likely the primary reasons behind breast cancer rather than genetic factors.…”

Patient perspectives on the causes of breast cancer: a qualitative study on the relationship between stress, trauma, and breast cancer development

“…Additionally, results from a systematic review of causal attributions of breast cancer by survivors reported 16 studies with evidence that survivors attributed their breast cancer diagnosis to stress, among other factors such as family history, environment, fate, or chance (Dumalaon-Canaria et al, 2014 ). A study on causal attribution by 299 breast cancer patients found that stress, diet and exercise were reported to be the most likely factors, while another study on 303 women who had survived breast cancer found that they attributed their breast cancer mostly to “stress and worry”, followed by “diet or eating habits” (Lee et al, 2021 ; Park et al, 2021 ). Another study of 159 women found that psychological causes were believed to be the reason why they developed breast cancer, while a further study identified that 46.4% of the women with breast cancer who were interviewed attribute their diagnosis to emotional or mental factors, especially stress (Peuker et al, 2016 ; Thomson et al, 2014 ).…”