Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jan 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialMinocycline for symptom reduction during radiation therapy for head and neck cancer: a randomized clinical trial.
Local/systemic symptoms during cancer therapy may be exacerbated by dysregulated inflammation and its downstream toxic effects. Minocycline can suppress proinflammatory cytokine release; therefore, we investigated its potential to reduce patient-reported symptom severity during radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer (HNC). ⋯ Minocycline was feasible, well tolerated, and achieved a positive signal toward reducing patient-reported symptom severity during RT for HNC, particularly for systemic symptoms. This justifies additional study and informs future trial design.
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Support Care Cancer · Jan 2020
Multicenter Study Observational StudySurvey and analysis of the nutritional status in hospitalized patients with malignant gastric tumors and its influence on the quality of life.
The assessment of nutritional status and the quality of life in patients with gastric cancer has become one of the important goals of current clinical treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess the nutritional status in hospitalized gastric cancer patients by using patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) and to analyze the influence of nutritional status on the patients' quality of life (QOL). ⋯ Malnutrition of hospitalized patients with gastric cancer in China is common and seriously affects the patients' quality of life. The nutritional status should be evaluated in a timely manner and reasonable nutritional intervention should be provided as soon as possible. The PG-SGA was fit for using as a clinical nutrition assessment method, being worthy of clinical application.
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Support Care Cancer · Jan 2020
Symptom correlates of dyspnea in advanced cancer patients using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System.
Dyspnea is frequently experienced in advanced cancer patients and is associated with poor prognosis and functional decline. This study used the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) to characterize the relationship between dyspnea and concurrent symptoms experienced by advanced cancer patients. ⋯ The highly interactive relationship between dyspnea and other common cancer symptoms necessitates the development of comprehensive symptom assessments and utilization of multimodal management approaches that consider concurrent symptoms for improved identification and treatment of dyspnea.
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Support Care Cancer · Jan 2020
A cross-sectional audit of current practices and areas for improvement of distress screening and management in Australian cancer services: is there a will and a way to improve?
It is unknown how many distressed patients receive the additional supportive care recommended by Australian evidence-based distress management guidelines. The study identifies the (1) distress screening practices of Australian cancer services; (2) barriers to improving practices; and (3) implementation strategies which are acceptable to service representatives interested in improving screening practices. ⋯ Although critical gaps across all guideline components were reported, there is a broad support for screening and willingness to improve. Potential improvements include additional services to manage problems identified by screening, more staff time for screening, additional staff training, and use of patient-report measures.
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Support Care Cancer · Jan 2020
Usefulness of painDETECT and S-LANSS in identifying the neuropathic component of mixed pain among patients with tumor-related cancer pain.
Tumor-related cancer pain often comprises mixed pain with both nociceptive and neuropathic components. Whether tumor-related cancer pain includes a neuropathic component impacts the therapeutic strategy. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the usefulness of two screening tools for neuropathic pain, painDETECT and Self-Report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS), in identifying the neuropathic component of mixed pain among patients with tumor-related cancer pain. ⋯ painDETECT and S-LANSS could not identify the neuropathic component of mixed pain among patients with tumor-related cancer pain, especially when pain was moderate or severe. Contrarily, these screening tools might be useful for identifying the neuropathic component of mixed pain for mild pain.