Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Review Meta AnalysisA literature synthesis of symptom prevalence and severity in persons receiving active cancer treatment.
Patients with cancer experience acute and chronic symptoms caused by their underlying disease or by the treatment. While numerous studies have examined the impact of various treatments on symptoms experienced by cancer patients, there are inconsistencies regarding the symptoms measured and reported in treatment trials. This article presents a systematic review of the research literature of the prevalence and severity of symptoms in patients undergoing cancer treatment. ⋯ Symptoms are prevalent and severe among patients with cancer. Therefore, any clinical study seeking to evaluate the impact of treatment on patients should consider including measurement of symptoms. This study demonstrates that a discrete set of symptoms is common across cancer types. This set may serve as the basis for defining a "core" set of symptoms to be recommended for elicitation across cancer clinical trials, particularly among patients with advanced disease.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyThe use of olanzapine versus metoclopramide for the treatment of breakthrough chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.
Olanzapine has been shown to be a safe and effective agent for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Olanzapine may also be an effective rescue medication for patients who develop breakthrough CINV despite having received guideline-directed CINV prophylaxis. ⋯ Olanzapine was significantly better than metoclopramide in the control of breakthrough emesis and nausea in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized controlled trial of standardized education and telemonitoring for pain in outpatients with advanced solid tumors.
Previous studies have not defined the role of telemonitoring with educational tools in outpatients with advanced cancers. We tested the effectiveness of standardized education and telemonitoring for improving pain, distress, anxiety, depression, quality of life (QoL), and performance in outpatients with advanced cancers. ⋯ Standardized pain education using nursing specialists is an efficient way to improve not only pain itself but also anxiety, depression, performance, and QoL. The addition of telemonitoring helps to improve pain management in the outpatient setting.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Predictive factors for overall quality of life in patients with advanced cancer.
This study examined which domains/symptoms from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative (QLQ-C15-PAL), an abbreviated version of the health-related EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire designed for palliative cancer patients, were predictive of overall quality of life (QOL) in advanced cancer patients. ⋯ Deterioration of certain EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL functional/symptom scores significantly contributes to worse overall QOL. Special attention should be directed to managing factors most influential on overall QOL to ensure optimal management of advanced cancer patients.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Palliative care needs, symptoms, and treatment intensity along the disease trajectory in medical oncology outpatients: a retrospective chart review.
Early integration of palliative care into cancer disease management is beneficial for patients with advanced tumors. However, little is known about the association of palliative care interventions with symptom burden and treatment aggressiveness at the end of life (EoL). ⋯ Most cancer patients receive aggressive EoL care interfering with quality of life. Despite limitations by small sample size and missing data, the results suggest that palliative care utilization is associated with reduced symptom burden and intensity of treatment at the EoL. Timely discussion of EoL issues may reduce the number of unnecessary interventions and facilitate referral to the PCU.