Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2012
Clinical TrialThe relationship between numbness, tingling, and shooting/burning pain in patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) as measured by the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 instrument, N06CA.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is characterized by numbness, tingling, and shooting/burning pain. This analysis was performed to describe the relationship between numbness, tingling, and shooting/burning pain in patients with CIPN, as reported using the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 (CIPN20). ⋯ In patients with CIPN, severe sensory neuropathy symptoms (numbness, tingling) commonly exist without severe neuropathic pain symptoms (shooting/burning pain), while the reverse is not common. Symptoms in the feet should be evaluated distinctly from those in the hands as the experience of symptoms is not identical, for individual patients, in upper versus lower extremities.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2012
Controlled Clinical TrialThyroid cancer patients' involvement in adjuvant radioactive iodine treatment decision-making and decision regret: an exploratory study.
We explored regret in thyroid cancer patients, relating to the decision to accept or reject adjuvant radioactive iodine treatment. ⋯ Thyroid cancer patients who reported being involved in the final treatment decision on adjuvant radioactive iodine had less regret than those who did not.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2012
Comparative StudyComparing baseline symptom severity and demographics over two time periods in an outpatient palliative radiotherapy clinic.
The primary objective of this study was to compare the symptom severity in two different patient populations assessed in an outpatient palliative radiotherapy clinic over two time periods spanning 10 years. The secondary objective was to assess any changes in the baseline demographics of these patients. ⋯ There have been statistically significant lower scores in the severity of the majority of symptoms as scored by the latter patient cohort; however, whether this difference in magnitude is clinically significant is debatable. The reason for referral and demographics in patients sent for palliative radiotherapy has changed over a 10-year period. This may be a reflection of the changes in systemic therapies and improvements in supportive care for patients with advanced cancer.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2012
Variations in process and outcome in inpatient palliative care services in Korea.
Hospice programs in Korea have been largely based on volunteer activity, religious services, or social services. Recent government policy of designating medically based inpatient palliative care services and per diem payment system made it necessary to monitor the quality of these services. We examined the variation in the process and outcomes of palliative care services, using 2009 data obtained from the Korean Terminal Cancer Patient Information System. ⋯ We found considerable variations among palliative care services with regard to the mean length of stay, subsequent place of care, and change in average pain score. Continued assessment of the variations in process and outcomes will assist in developing the national benchmarking system and the evaluation of the government policy.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2012
Comparative StudyComparison of pain response and functional interference outcomes between spinal and non-spinal bone metastases treated with palliative radiotherapy.
The purpose of this study was to compare functional interference and pain response outcomes using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) for patients treated with palliative radiotherapy to spine versus non-spine bones and determine if dose fractionation was associated with each group's respective response. ⋯ Spine and non-spine bone metastases exhibited similar pain and functional interference improvements over a period of 6 months post-radiotherapy. There were, however, high attrition rates as expected with palliative studies, with approximately half the patients remaining in this study by 3 months and a fifth by 6 months. A single 8 Gy resulted in equal benefits in terms of both pain response and improvement in function.