Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2010
Evaluation of analgesic effect and safety of fentanyl transdermal patch for cancer pain as the first line.
Initial treatment with morphine followed by fentanyl transdermal patch is the standard in Japan, since even the smallest patch (2.5 mg) could deliver too high an initial dose for Japanese patients. We evaluated the analgesic effect and safety of using the fentanyl transdermal patch as a first-line strong opioid for cancer pain that is resistant to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). ⋯ The use of 1.25-mg fentanyl transdermal patch (50% of a 2.5-mg patch) seems to be safe and efficient as a first-line strong opioid. The use of 3.75-mg fentanyl transdermal patch may be necessary since adverse events including nausea and sleepiness are likely to occur by increasing from 2.5 to 5 mg.
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Obesity and overweight are risk factors for developing an oesophageal cancer, especially the adenocarcinoma in the distal oesophagus or at the gastroesophageal junction, and many patients still are overweight at the clinical presentation even if they are losing weight. Main mechanisms involved in weight loss are a decreased nutrients' intake and an alteration in metabolism due to a cytokine-driven inflammatory status. Malnutrition is a risk factor for a poor compliance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy and finally for the oncologic outcome. There is scientific evidence that frequently both conditions exist but in the advanced stages of disease metabolic alterations play a major role and are responsible for the poor response to nutritional support. ⋯ In patients with oesophageal cancer on chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, enteral nutrition (oral supplements +/- intensive counselling or tube feeding) is nutritionally and clinically beneficial. In surgical patients, a broad experience in major abdominal surgery supports the peri-operative use of enteral nutrition and especially of immune-enteral nutrition.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2010
Prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia with granulocyte colony-stimulating factors: where are we now?
Updated international guidelines published in 2006 have broadened the scope for the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in supporting delivery of myelosuppressive chemotherapy. G-CSF prophylaxis is now recommended when the overall risk of febrile neutropenia (FN) due to regimen and individual patient factors is >or=20%, for supporting dose-dense and dose-intense chemotherapy and to help maintain dose density where dose reductions have been shown to compromise outcomes. Indeed, there is now a large body of evidence for the efficacy of G-CSFs in supporting dose-dense chemotherapy. ⋯ A single dose of PEGylated G-CSF (pegfilgrastim) may provide a more effective, as well as a more convenient, alternative to daily G-CSF. Prospective studies are needed to validate the importance of delivering the full dose intensity of standard chemotherapy regimens, with G-CSF support where appropriate, across a range of settings. These studies should also incorporate prospective evaluation of risk stratification for neutropenia and its complications.
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Undernourishment on hospital admission has been considered as risk factor for complications and increased relapse/nonrelapse mortality in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients. ⋯ Parenteral nutrition allows better modulation of fluid, electrolytes, and nutrient administration which can be of critical importance when complications such as GvHD or VOD arise.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2010
Ways of talking about illness and prognosis in palliative cancer care consultations--two interactional frames.
The purpose of the study was to describe how interaction about changes in illness and prognosis was shaped by participants in outpatient palliative cancer care consultations. ⋯ When patients shared their personal interpretations of illness and prognosis, their narrative was more enhanced by the person-to-person frame than the patient-professional frame. Finding out if and how patients and SOs want to express their worries and finding a balance between the interactional patterns that occur are ethical challenges which health professionals must face. Since patients and SOs may restrain their emotional experiences, investigating grounded ways of overcoming these difficulties is imperative.