Introduction Asian American breast cancer survivors have been known as a group with high needs for help despite high social support by their families. To provide appropriate and adequate support for this specific group, it is important to decide what are the characteristics of those with high needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of Asian American breast cancer survivors with high needs for help during their survivorship transition.

Methods The data from a larger clinical trial among 185 Asian American breast cancer survivors were used for this study. Multiple instruments were used in the larger study, yet only the data collected using the Supportive Care Needs Survey-Short Form 34 (SCNS-SF34) and multiple scales to measure the survivors’ characteristics were used. The data analysis was done through decision tree analyses with the algorithm of classification and regression trees.

Results The women with the highest needs had different characteristics depending on the types of needs. Those with the highest psychological needs had high psychological symptom distress (cut point = 1.60), low self-efficacy (cut point = 100.50), high global symptom distress (cut point = 2.21), and low immigration age (cut point = 29.50).

Conclusion/Implications The findings suggest the risk groups of Asian American breast cancer survivors to target in future interventions to reduce their needs for help.