Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2016
Pilot evaluation of scrambler therapy for pain induced by bone and visceral metastases and refractory to standard therapies.
Scrambler therapy is a non-invasive neurocutaneous electrical pain intervention, effective for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Currently, few data about the efficacy of this treatment in cancer pain induced by skeletal and visceral metastases are available. The aim of this single-center case series is to evaluate the efficacy of scrambler therapy in reducing this kind of cancer pain after failure of standard treatments, including pharmacological therapies and radiation therapy. ⋯ Scrambler therapy does not present toxicity and allows opioids dosage reduction, and it is also a repeatable treatment. Present novel data support that scrambler therapy seems to be effective for the treatment of cancer pain. Further evaluation in randomized and controlled clinical trials should be performed to confirm our findings.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2016
A novel prospective descriptive analysis of nausea and vomiting among patients receiving gastrointestinal radiation therapy.
Nausea and vomiting are common side effects from radiotherapy that can interfere with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients' quality of life (QOL). This study described the subjective experience of patients with radiation-induced nausea and vomiting (RINV) and its relation to QOL. ⋯ Patient's subjective experiences of RINV directly correlated to the worsening of QOL outcomes. The identification and amelioration of these RINV experiences could improve QOL.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2016
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy after neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment of breast cancer: a prospective cohort study.
The purposes of this study were to estimate the incidence of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and to identify its main determinants and impact in patient-reported outcomes. ⋯ CIPN was frequent in this contemporary cohort of early-stage breast cancer patients and was strongly associated with docetaxel-based regimens. Symptoms persisted for at least 6 months in most patients, but severity was low and CIPN had no impact on patient-reported outcomes.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2016
Review Case ReportsChemotherapy at end-of-life: an integration of oncology and palliative team.
Palliative chemotherapy is increasingly used in cancer patients near end of life. With the development of newer anticancer agents which have less side effects and higher expected efficacy, the decision on palliative chemotherapy in patients near end of life is complex. This article illustrates how oncologist and palliative care physicians can work together effectively. This article also gives an overview about the risks of palliative chemotherapy near end of life, patients' and physicians' perspectives in choosing the aggressive treatment and describes what an oncologist should do when facing this challenging situation.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2016
Validation of the Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-BM22 in patients with bone metastases.
Our aim is to test the validity, reliability, and acceptability of the Chinese version of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bone Metastases 22 (EORTC QLQ-BM22) module to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with bone metastases in China. ⋯ The Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-BM22 is a reliable and valid instrument, which is appropriate for measuring the HRQOL of patients with bone metastases in China.