European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of two invasive techniques in the management of intractable pain due to inoperable pancreatic cancer: neurolytic celiac plexus block and videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy.
Pancreatic cancer is characterized by a constant deterioration in quality of life, excruciating pain and progressive cachexia. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two invasive methods of pain treatment in these patients: neurolytic coeliac plexus block (NCPB) and videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy (VSPL) to a conservatively treated control group concerning pain, quality of life and opiates' consumption. ⋯ Both NCPB and VSPL provide significant reduction of pain and improvement of quality of life in inoperable pancreatic cancer patients. They present rather similar efficacy, but lower invasiveness of NCPB, in combination with its more positive effect on quality of life, pre-disposes it as being the preferred method.
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The aims of the study were (1) to evaluate quality of life (QoL) and functional outcome in patients following anterior resection (AR) or abdominoperineal resection (APR) for rectal cancer, and (2) whether these outcomes were dependent on the level of anastomosis. ⋯ Although rectal function was impaired in patients with low anastomosis, patients who had undergone AR had better QoL than patients who had undergone APR.