Re: Is cancer back? Psychological issues faced by survivors of breast cancer

Dear Editor,

Emendatio pars studiorum longe utilissima. A Deucalione, mastology remains an important issue in human beings¹-⁸. We have read with great interest the article "Is cancer back?—psychological issues faced by survivors of breast cancer"⁹. Bergerot and colleagues⁹ purposed to investigate the multifaceted sentimental complexities faced by survivors, incorporating a variety of issues from fear of recurrence to body image distrustfulness, which underscores the compulsory support. The authors reviewed the information through the PubMed index with personal files and examined the risk factors contributing to augmented psychological distress with periods of sentimentality. Of note is that they negotiate and discourse psychological interventions to upgrade resilience and develop the quality of life of survivors. In addition, they also stressed the requirement for ongoing research on survival into the long-term psychological effects of cancer recurrence. Nevertheless, would more extensive sampling for the clinical studies, which might possibly eliminate bias, alter this valued work's outcome(s)? Moreover, would it be convenient and suitable to emphasize the overt criteria for the article selection and demographic diversity of survivors studied for this work? Does a deficiency of quantitative data or meta-analyses, which might hinder the adroitness of comprehending the emotional confusion of the survivors, limit the tendency to generalize the relevant findings? This issue merits further investigation. We thank Bergerot et al.⁹ for their study on breast cancer survivors.

• Funding:
  none.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

REFERENCES

• ¹ Soares Júnior JM, Mota BS, Nobrega GB, Filassi JR, Sorpreso ICE, Baracat EC. Breast cancer survivals and hormone therapy: estrogen and melatonin. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2023;69(10):e6910EDI. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.6910EDI
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.6910EDI
• ² Veiga ECA, Simões R, Valenti VE, Cipolla-Neto J, Abreu LC, Barros EPM, et al. Repercussions of melatonin on the risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2019;65(5):699-705. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.65.5.699
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.65.5.699
• ³ Soares Júnior JM, Sorpreso IC, Baracat EC. Is hormone therapy during climacteric for all? Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2015;61(3):191-2. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.61.03.191
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.61.03.191
• ⁴ Prokop J, Maršálek P, Sengul I, Pelikán A, Janoutová J, Horyl P, et al. Evaluation of breast stiffness pathology based on breast compression during mammography: proposal for novel breast stiffness scale classification. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2022;77:100100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinsp.2022.100100
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinsp.2022.100100
• ⁵ Rivas FWS, Gonçalves R, Mota BS, Sorpreso ICE, Toporcov TN, Filassi JR, et al. Comprehensive diagnosis of advanced-stage breast cancer: exploring detection methods, molecular subtypes, and demographic influences - A cross-sectional study. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2024;79:100510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinsp.2024.100510
  » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinsp.2024.100510
• ⁶ Bagnoli VR, Fonseca AMD, Massabki JOP, Arie WMY, Azevedo RS, Veiga ECA, et al. Gynecological cancer and metabolic screening of 1001 elderly Brazilian women. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2019;65(10):1275-82. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.65.10.1275
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.65.10.1275
• ⁷ Soares Junior JM, Kesicioglu T, Sengul D, Sengul I. Of sight, and insight into melatonin's role in breast cancer? Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2023;69(7):e697EDIT. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.697EDIT
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.697EDIT
• ⁸ Kesicioglu T, Sengul I, Aydın I, Vural S, Sengul D. Revisiting surgical management of breast cancer in a geriatric population. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2022;68(11):1504-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20220961
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20220961
• ⁹ Bergerot C, Bergerot PG, Maués J, Segarra-Vazquez B, Mano MS, Tarantino P. Is cancer back?-psychological issues faced by survivors of breast cancer. Ann Palliat Med. 2024;13(5):1229-34. https://doi.org/10.21037/apm-24-54
  » https://doi.org/10.21037/apm-24-54

Edited by

• Scientifıc Editor:
  José Maria Soares Júnior https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0774-9404

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  09 Jan 2026
• Date of issue
  2025

History

• Received
  27 Mar 2025
• Accepted
  28 Apr 2025