• J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2017

    Symptom burden in advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma.

    • Nicholas Gough, Jonathan Koffman, Joy R Ross, Julia Riley, and Ian Judson.
    • Royal Marsden and Royal Brompton Palliative Care Service, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. Electronic address: nicholas.gough@nhs.net.
    • J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017 Mar 1; 53 (3): 588-597.

    ContextThere is little information on symptom prevalence and severity in advanced soft-tissue sarcoma (STS). Understanding symptom burden will aid clinical consultations, clarify which symptom interventions are needed, and better define optimum timings of palliative and supportive care referrals.ObjectivesTo describe symptom prevalence and severity in patients undergoing different treatment options for advanced STS: 1) first-line palliative chemotherapy (FLC), 2) active surveillance (AS) pre- and post-FLC, and 3) palliative care (PC) alone.MethodsCross-sectional survey in one sarcoma center using the patient-reported Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale-Short Form (MSAS-SF). Symptom prevalence, severity, and MSAS-SF subscales were recorded before commencing a new treatment. Our results were compared with other MSAS-SF cancer and noncancer data.ResultsOne-hundred and thirteen patients (mean age, 59 years) were recruited. Forty-two commenced FLC, 27 started AS pre-FLC, 24 AS post-FLC, and 20 PC alone. Median overall number of reported symptoms was 11 (range 1-31): which when stratified by treatment meant AS pre-FLC < AS post-FLC < FLC < PC alone (most symptomatic). The commonest physical symptoms were pain (77%; 95% CI 68-84), lack of energy (73%; CI 63-81) difficulty sleeping (56%; CI 46-65), feeling bloated (49%; CI 39-58), and dyspnea (49%; CI 39-58). Distress levels were commensurated with prevalence except for dyspnea, which was disproportionally less distressing. Psychological distress was moderate (mean MSAS-PSYCH: 1.39) but higher than comparative cancer data.ConclusionAdvanced STS patients have a clinically important symptom burden comparable to other cancers. Common symptoms should be screened and addressed appropriately, including timely PC involvement.Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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