Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2021
The role of the gut microbiome in cancer-related fatigue: pilot study on epigenetic mechanisms.
Recent evidence supports a key role of gut microbiome in brain health. We conducted a pilot study to assess associations of gut microbiome with cancer-related fatigue and explore the associations with DNA methylation changes. ⋯ Our results suggest different patterns of the gut microbiota in cancer patients with high vs. low fatigue. Results from functional pathways and DNA methylation analyses indicate that inflammation is likely to be the major driver in the gut-brain axis for cancer-related fatigue.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2021
Palliative care provision at a tertiary cancer center during a global pandemic.
COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019; it rapidly spread around the world and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The palliative care program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, provides comprehensive care to patients with advanced cancer and their families, through services including an acute palliative care unit, an inpatient consultation service, and an ambulatory palliative care clinic. ⋯ In tandem, there is a need for palliative care teams to continue to provide care to patients with advanced cancer who are COVID-negative but who are at higher risk of infection and adverse outcomes related to COVID-19. This paper highlights the unique challenges faced by a palliative care team in terms of scaling up services in response to a global pandemic while simultaneously providing ongoing support to their patients with advanced cancer at a tertiary cancer center.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2021
Multicenter StudyFactors influencing spiritual well-being in terminally ill cancer inpatients in Japan.
Spiritual well-being is very important in patients undergoing palliative care. Although psychosocial factors have been suggested to be associated with spiritual well-being, the relationship between physical signs and spiritual well-being has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to explore diverse factors associated with spiritual well-being among palliative care patients in Japan. ⋯ Recognizing factors associated with spiritual well-being is potentially useful for identifying high-risk groups with lower spiritual well-being at the end of life. Further study is required to investigate factors associated with patient-reported spiritual well-being.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy and safety of lipegfilgrastim versus pegfilgrastim in elderly patients with aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL): results of the randomized, open-label, non-inferiority AVOID neutropenia study.
Lipegfilgrastim has been shown to be non-inferior to pegfilgrastim for reduction of the duration of severe neutropenia (DSN) in breast cancer patients. This open-label, non-inferiority study assessed the efficacy and safety of lipegfilgrastim versus pegfilgrastim in elderly patients with aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) at high risk for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. ⋯ This study shows lipegfilgrastim to be non-inferior to pegfilgrastim for the reduction of DSN in elderly patients with aggressive B cell NHL receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy, with a comparable safety profile.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2021
Effects of meaning in life and individual characteristics on dignity in patients with advanced cancer in China: a cross-sectional study.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of meaning in life and individual characteristics on dignity in patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ Self-perceived dignity is significantly negatively associated with meaning in life, age, inpatient status, and performance status. The early recognition of risk factors for the loss of dignity and interventions to enhance meaning in life may prevent the loss of dignity in patients with advanced cancer.