European journal of cancer care
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Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) · Jul 2005
Gastrointestinal and cutaneous AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma: different activity of liposomal doxorubicin according to location of lesions.
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) continues to be a frequent neoplasm in third world AIDS patients. We carried out a prospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of liposomal doxorubicin (LD) in gastrointestinal KS patients as well as its differential clinical activity depending on the location of the lesions. The study included 15 male AIDS patients aged between 25 and 35 years (mean: 27 years) with more than 25 cutaneous lesions and extensive gastrointestinal KS. ⋯ Regarding cutaneous lesions, only two (13%) of the patients reached a complete response, six (40%) a partial response and seven (47%) stabilized their disease. By applying Fisher's test we found a significant difference (P < 0.00035) when comparing the effectiveness of LD in gastrointestinal lesions in relation to cutaneous lesions. We conclude that LD is more effective in gastrointestinal KS and can be recommended in patients in third world countries with extensive gastrointestinal lesions.
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Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) · Jul 2005
An evaluation of the domiciliary occupational therapy service in palliative cancer care in a community trust: a patient and carers perspective.
In the past 20 years there has been considerable growth in the provision of palliative care services. The shift in emphasis from hospice and hospital care to the development of community services has been significant. This enables people to be cared for at home and is in keeping with Government agenda. ⋯ A structured interview was carried out with both the patients and their carers to obtain views. Results suggest that although both patients and their carers value the service provided and report high levels of satisfaction, there are gaps identified in service provision and a lack of clear information among patients and their carers about the role of the occupational therapist and the range of services they can provide. There is a need to build upon the good work being done by domiciliary occupational therapists in the area of palliative cancer care and increase education and resources to ensure that a patient-centred, holistic, approach to care is used, addressing both the needs of the patient and their carers.