Objective To analyze the correlations of postoperative quality of life with fear of disease progression and self-management in patients with esophageal cancer.

Methods A total of 300 patients with esophageal cancer in the authors'hospital from March 2022 to March 2023 were selected as research objects, and they were investigated with the General Situation Questionnaire, the Spitzer Quality of Life Index (SQLI), the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlations between the three scales, and the mediating effect of self-management on postoperative quality of life and fear of disease progression in patients with esophageal cancer were analyzed.

Results The total scores of the SQLI, GSES and FoP-Q-SF in 300 patients with esophageal cancer were (4.88±0.48), (30.54±3.84) and (29.81±3.76), respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that there were negative correlations of fear of disease progression with quality of life and self-management (r=-0.623, -0.734, P < 0.01), while there was a positive correlation between quality of life and self-management (r=0.678, P < 0.01). The mediating effect test showed that self-management had a mediating effect on fear of disease progression and postoperative quality of life in patients with esophageal cancer, accounting for 41.2% of the total effect.

Conclusion Self-management is a mediating variable for fear of disease progression and postoperative quality of life in patients with esophageal cancer. Medical staffs need to take corresponding intervention measures to enhance patients'self-management abilities and improve postoperative quality of life.