Japanese journal of clinical oncology
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2021
Unmet need for palliative rehabilitation in inpatient hospices/palliative care units: a nationwide post-bereavement survey.
In end-of-life care, rehabilitation for terminally ill cancer patients is inconsistently provided and rarely discussed. We sought to clarify the prevalence of unmet rehabilitation need for patients admitted to inpatient hospice/palliative care units as perceived by bereaved family members. We conducted a nationwide questionnaire survey of 1001 family members of cancer patients who died at inpatient hospices/palliative care units. ⋯ Of these, 281 (67.5%) cases received no rehabilitation. The need for physical modalities was the most frequently reported (27.8%; 95% CI: 22.6-33.4), followed by relief of dyspnea (25.6%; 95% CI: 20.6-31.1) and treatment of edema (23.8%; 95% CI: 19.0-29.3). A non-negligible proportion of bereaved families reported unmet need for rehabilitation related to symptom management in inpatient hospices/palliative care units.
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · May 2021
Efficacy and safety of subsequent molecular targeted therapy after immuno-checkpoint therapy, retrospective study of Japanese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (AFTER I-O study).
Guidelines for treatment of mRCC recommend nivolumab monotherapy (NIVO) for treated patients, and nivolumab plus ipilimumab combination therapy (NIVO+IPI) for untreated IMDC intermediate and poor-risk mRCC patients. Although molecular-targeted therapies (TTs) such as VEGFR-TKIs and mTORi are recommended as subsequent therapy after NIVO or NIVO+IPI, their efficacy and safety remain unclear. ⋯ TTs have favorable antitumor activity in patients with mRCC after ICI, possibly via changing the mechanism of action. Safety signals of TTs after ICI were similar to previous reports. These results indicate that sequential TTs after ICI may contribute for long survival benefit.
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Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignancies of mesenchymal origin; their molecular and genomic mechanisms differ with regard to histology. These characteristics lead to the presentation of varied immunological profiles based on the tumor microenvironment. Various immunotherapies are considered for the treatment of sarcoma. ⋯ Although the sole use of immune checkpoint inhibitors provides limited efficacy, combined immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors or molecular target agents, especially antiangiogenic agents, has shown moderate results against some types of sarcoma, such as the alveolar soft part sarcoma. Several clinical trials utilizing immunotherapy, including T-cell receptor gene therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors, in sarcomas are under progress. By clarifying the tumor microenvironment and biomarker-predictive capacity of immunotherapy in sarcomas, better clinical trials can be designed; this could lead to improved outcomes for immunotherapy in sarcoma.
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · Mar 2021
Observational StudyOpioid-induced constipation in patients with cancer pain in Japan (OIC-J study): a post hoc subgroup analysis of patients with lung cancer.
To evaluate the opioid-induced constipation burden in the subgroup of patients with lung cancer who participated in the observational Opioid-Induced Constipation in Patients with Cancer Pain in Japan (OIC-J) study. ⋯ In patients with lung cancer, opioid-induced constipation can occur quickly after initiating opioids and can negatively impact quality of life. Early management of opioid-induced constipation, with a focus on quality-of-life improvement and patient's assessments of bowel movements, is important for these patients.
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · Mar 2021
Uniform infection screening allowed safe head and neck surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Japan.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether a uniform infection screening protocol could be used to safely perform head and neck cancer surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and clarify how surgical treatment changed compared with the pre-pandemic period. ⋯ Our data indicate that continuation of head and neck anticancer surgical treatment in an epidemic area during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic were safe and feasible, if adequate and strict preventive measures are vigorously and successfully carried out.