Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2013
Multicenter StudyPattern and characteristics of advanced cancer patients admitted to hospices in Italy.
The aim of this multicenter study was to assess the pattern and the characteristics of advanced cancer patients admitted to hospices. A consecutive sample of patients admitted in a period of 6 months was taken into consideration. Two hundred thirty-six patients admitted to hospices were consecutively assessed. ⋯ The short survival and the number of patients dying in hospice were the principal finding, as it appears that hospice admission is only one way for end of life treatments. Patients receive specialized palliative care only for 2-3 weeks before death, implying an inacceptable timing for patients with several problems presumed to be present early during the course of disease. Data from hospice activities in Italy strongly suggest to spread palliative care in other settings, other than home care and hospice, to intercept oncologic patients in their disease trajectory early.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2013
Phase II study of glucosamine with chondroitin on aromatase inhibitor-associated joint symptoms in women with breast cancer.
Many women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer discontinue effective aromatase inhibitor (AI) treatment due to joint symptoms. ⋯ In this single-arm study, 24 weeks of glucosamine/chondroitin resulted in moderate improvements in AI-induced arthralgias, with minimal side effects, and no changes in estradiol levels. These results suggest a need to evaluate efficacy in a placebo-controlled trial.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2013
Predictors of high score patient-reported barriers to controlling cancer pain: a preliminary report.
Pain is one of the most common and devastating symptoms in cancer patients, and misunderstandings on the patient's part can cause major obstacles in pain management. ⋯ Depression was associated with high barrier score in patients with cancer pain. Management of cancer pain should include screening for depression, and management of depression could reduce patient-reported barriers to pain management.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2013
Longitudinal prospective assessment of sleep quality: before, during, and after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Cross-sectional data suggest that many individuals with breast cancer experience significant sleep disturbance across the continuum of care. Understanding the longitudinal trajectory of sleep disturbance may help identify factors associated with its onset, severity, or influence on health-related quality of life (HRQL). Study objectives were to observe sleep quality in breast cancer patients prior to, during, and after completion of adjuvant chemotherapy, evaluate its relationship with HRQL and explore correlates over time. ⋯ These findings suggest that early identification of sleep disturbance and ongoing assessment and treatment of contributing factors over the course of care may minimize symptom burden associated with chemotherapy and prevent chronic insomnia in survivorship.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2013
Variation in medication use in cancer patients at the end of life: a cross-sectional analysis.
Despite advances in cancer treatment, patients still die with unnecessary suffering. Therefore, high-quality end-of-life care is needed. Variations in medication use at the end of life may suggest areas for improvement. This study aims to describe the use of medications during the last days of life of cancer patients and to explore the possibility of using it as a quality measure. ⋯ Medication use at the end of life varies widely by setting, both for potentially appropriate and inappropriate medications. Combining experts' opinion and current medication use resulted in the identification of 16 medications that might be used to assess the quality of cancer care at the end of life.