Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
Spiritual well-being among outpatients with cancer receiving concurrent oncologic and palliative care.
Spiritual well-being is threatened by cancer, but its correlation with other illness symptoms and the efficacy of palliative care (PC) to ameliorate spiritual suffering are not well understood. ⋯ Among patients with cancer receiving concurrent oncologic and palliative care, spiritual well-being was not associated with patient age, gender, or race, or disease stage. It was correlated with physical and emotional symptoms. Spiritual well-being scores improved from just prior to the initial PC consultation to just prior to the first PC follow-up visit.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
Cytokine gene variations associated with trait and state anxiety in oncology patients and their family caregivers.
Anxiety is common among cancer patients and their family caregivers (FCs) and is associated with poorer outcomes. Recently, associations between inflammation and anxiety were identified. However, the relationship between variations in cytokine genes and anxiety warrants investigation. Therefore, phenotypic and genotypic characteristics associated with trait and state anxiety were evaluated in a sample of 167 oncology patients with breast, prostate, lung, or brain cancer and 85 of their FCs. ⋯ These findings suggest that both trait and state anxiety need to be assessed in oncology patients and their FCs. Furthermore, variations in cytokine genes may contribute to higher levels of anxiety in oncology patients and their FCs.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of the acceptability and benefits of two mindfulness-based interventions in women with breast or gynecologic cancer: a pilot study.
The aim of this study was to compare the relative benefits and acceptability of two different group-based mindfulness psychotherapy interventions among women with breast and gynecologic cancer. ⋯ Within the limits of a small, non-randomized study, these findings provide preliminary support for the utility of a brief mindfulness intervention for improving distress and QOL in a heterogeneous group of women with cancer. Abbreviated interventions are less resource intensive and may be attractive to very unwell patients.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
C-reactive protein and the MASCC risk index identify high-risk patients with febrile neutropenia and hematologic neoplasms.
The objective of this study is to assess the prognostic usefulness of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) risk score in association with the value of C-reactive protein (CRP) to identify high-risk patients with febrile neutropenia and hematologic neoplasms. ⋯ The MASCC risk score combined with the mean CRP value successfully identifies patients with febrile neutropenia and hematological malignancies and a high risk of death.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
The oncology palliative care clinic at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre: an early intervention model for patients with advanced cancer.
Several recently published randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the benefits of early palliative care involvement for patients with advanced cancer. In the oncology outpatient setting, palliative care clinics are an ideal site for the provision of early, collaborative support, which can be maintained throughout the cancer trajectory. Despite this, access to ambulatory palliative care clinics is limited, even at tertiary cancer centres. ⋯ We describe the development and expansion of an outpatient palliative care clinic at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, demonstrating how the clinic functions at a local and regional level. This clinic served as the intervention for a recent large cluster-randomized trial of early palliative care. The model for this service can be adapted by other palliative care programs that aim to provide early, integrated oncology care.