Effect of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program on quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer: Review of clinical experience

Understandability of Speech Predicts Quality of Life Among Maxillectomy Patients Restored With Obturator Prosthesis

PURPOSE

Maxillary malignant tumor resection by maxillectomy might lead to defects that can be repaired by prosthetic obturation. The aim of this study was to associate quality of life (QoL) and the Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS) with functional performance and salivary flow rate in Brazilian patients rehabilitated with an obturator prosthesis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective cross-sectional study included patients who underwent surgical resection with or without radiotherapy or without chemotherapy and the rehabilitation with an obturator prosthesis at the Fundação Oncocentro de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil). The predictor variables were Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck Cancer Patients (PSS-HN) domains and clinical evaluation of salivary flow rate. The outcome variables were overall scores obtained by the University of Washington QoL Scale (UWQOL) and the OFS. Sociodemographics (gender and age) and clinical characteristics (postoperative radiotherapy, tumor stage, classification of maxillary defect, tooth in maxilla, and type of obturator) also were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determinate whether PSS-HN domains and salivary flow were predictors of overall QoL and overall OFS.

RESULTS

The sample was composed of 73 patients with a mean age of 62 years and 51% were men. According to the PSS-HN domains, some patients (5%) always ate alone, 87% reported that speech is usually or always understandable, and 56% had no dietary restrictions. Sixty-one patients (65%) reported some degree of hyposalivation. The mean overall QoL score was 76.5 (standard deviation, 5.3). Patients with compromised PSS-HN domains had significantly worse overall UWQOL scores (P = .001, P < .001, and P = .006, respectively). In multiple regression analyses, understandability of speech was the only predictor of overall QoL scores.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed that understandability of speech was the only predictor of overall QoL scores.

Development and preliminary evaluation of a rehabilitation consult for survivors of head and neck cancer: an intervention mapping protocol

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests that rehabilitation interventions can improve function and quality of life in survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC), but there is a lack of coordinated, integrated services, and those offered are inconsistent. To address these gaps, we will develop and conduct preliminary evaluation of a rehabilitation consult, built on the theoretical foundations of goal setting and self-management, and composed of a brief functional evaluation, a resource compendium, and collaborative goal-setting and action planning processes.

METHODS/DESIGN

The development of the rehabilitation consult will be guided by intervention mapping, which consists of six steps: 1. Needs assessment; 2. Definition of program objectives; 3. Selection of theory-based intervention methods; 4. Production and pretesting; 5. Adoption, implementation and sustainability planning; 6. Process and effect evaluation. Within the intervention mapping framework, an iterative process of constructing drafts and mini-evaluations with consumers and experts will be used, modifying the rehabilitation consult intervention until a version suitable for formal evaluation is established. The rehabilitation consult will then be evaluated using a prospective, mixed method, single group design with 30 survivors of head and neck cancer. Outcomes will be assessed pre- and post-intervention and at 6-month follow-up.

DISCUSSION

Survivors of head and neck cancer have among the most complex rehabilitation needs of all cancer patients. The rehabilitation consult is expected to improve knowledge and uptake of rehabilitation resources and strategies in survivors of head and neck cancer and thereby improve long-term function and quality of life. If the rehabilitation consult is effective in cancer patients with such high and diverse needs, this project will produce a toolkit that will be adaptable for other types of cancer in other jurisdictions.

A clinic-supported group exercise program for head and neck cancer survivors: managing cancer and treatment side effects to improve quality of life

PURPOSE

The purpose of the evaluation of this clinic-supported 12-week progressive strength-training program was to assess the feasibility and impact of an exercise intervention for head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.

METHODS

Recruitment and adherence feasibility, as well as health-related fitness measures and patient-reported symptom management were assessed on the 21 HNC survivors in the exercise program.

RESULTS

Overall, this program was feasible, as indicated by recruitment, adherence, and safety outcomes. Survivors experienced improved acute symptom management over the period of one exercise class for tiredness, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, and overall wellbeing. Over the course of the program, survivors experienced significant improvements in physical functioning outcomes and improved management of tiredness and fatigue.

CONCLUSIONS

A progressive strength-training program is feasible for HNC survivors on and following treatment and is associated with improved acute and chronic fitness outcomes and symptom management.

Pedometer-facilitated walking intervention shows promising effectiveness for reducing cancer fatigue: a pilot randomized trial

Objective:

Mechanisms for cancer related fatigue suggest that exercise but “not too much and not too little” could be effective. This study aimed to investigate feasibility and estimate the potential effects of a walking exercise program in people with advanced cancer and fatigue.

Design:

A pilot randomized trial.

Setting:

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montreal, Canada.

Subjects:

People with advanced cancer undergoing interdisciplinary assessment and rehabilitation with a fatigue level of 4 to 10 on a visual analogue scale.

Interventions:

An 8-week fatigue-adapted, walking intervention, facilitated using a pedometer (STEPS), and offered at the same time as or after rehabilitation.

Measures:

Measures of fatigue, physical function and well-being were administered at entry, and 8, 16 and 24 weeks. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) estimated the odds of response for people receiving the STEPS program in comparison to the odds of response in the controls (odds ratio, OR).

Results:

Twenty-six persons were randomized to three groups: during rehabilitation, after rehabilitation, and usual care. For the fatigue measures the OR for STEPS offered at any time using an intention-to-treat approach was 3.68 (95%CI: 1.05-12.88); for the physical function measures, the OR was 1.40 (95%CI: 0.41- 4.79) and 2.36 (95%CI: 0.66-8.51) for the well-being measures.

Conclusion:

Fifty percent of eligible people were able to participate. This small trial suggests that a personalized exercise program reduces fatigue and that 100 people are needed in a full strength trial.

A prospective evaluation of an interdisciplinary nutrition-rehabilitation program for patients with advanced cancer

BACKGROUND

Cancer can affect many dimensions of a patient's life, and in turn, it should be targeted using a multimodal approach. We tested the extent to which an interdisciplinary nutrition-rehabilitation program can improve the well-being of patients with advanced cancer.

METHODS

Between January 10, 2007, and September 29, 2010, 188 patients with advanced cancer enrolled in the 10-12-week program. Body weight, physical function, symptom severity, fatigue dimensions, distress level, coping ability, and overall quality of life were assessed at the start and end of the program.

RESULTS

Of the enrolled patients, 70% completed the program. Patients experienced strong improvements in the physical and activity dimensions of fatigue (effect sizes: 0.8-1.1). They also experienced moderate reductions in the severity of weakness, depression, nervousness, shortness of breath, and distress (effect sizes: 0.5-0.7), and moderate improvements in Six Minute Walk Test distance, maximal gait speed, coping ability, and quality of life (effect sizes: 0.5-0.7) Furthermore, 77% of patients either maintained or increased their body weight.

CONCLUSIONS

Interdisciplinary nutrition-rehabilitation can be advantageous for patients with advanced cancer and should be considered an integrated part of standard palliative care.

An interprofessional palliative care oncology rehabilitation program: effects on function and predictors of program completion

BACKGROUND

After treatment, patients with active cancer face a considerable burden from the effects of both the disease and its treatment. The Palliative Rehabilitation Program (prp) is designed to ameliorate disease effects and to improve the patient's functioning. The present study evaluated predictors of program completion and changes in functioning, symptoms, and well-being after the program.

METHODS

The program received referrals for 173 patients who had finished anticancer therapy. Of those 173 patients, 116 with advanced cancer were eligible and enrolled in the 8-week interprofessional prp; 67 completed it. Measures of physical, nutritional, social, and psychological functioning were evaluated at entry to the program and at completion.

RESULTS

Participants experienced significant improvements in physical performance (p < 0.000), nutrition (p = 0.001), symptom severity (p = 0.005 to 0.001), symptom interference with functioning (p = 0.003 to 0.001), fatigue (p = 0.001), and physical endurance, mobility, and balance or function (p = 0.001 to 0.001). Reasons that participants did not complete the prp were disease progression, geographic inaccessibility, being too well (program not challenging enough), death, and personal or unknown reasons. A normal level of C-reactive protein (<10 mg/L, p = 0.029) was a predictor of program completion.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients living with advanced cancers who underwent the interprofessional prp experienced significant improvement in functioning across several domains. Program completion can be predicted by a normal level of C-reactive protein.

The association between malnutrition and psychological distress in patients with advanced head-and-neck cancer

OBJECTIVE

Malnutrition and psychological distress are often seen in patients with head-and-neck cancer, but little is known about the interrelationships between those two symptoms. The present study examined the relationship between malnutrition and psychological distress in patients with advanced head-and-neck cancer.

METHODS

Using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, 99 patients with advanced-stage head-and-neck cancer were screened for nutrition status. The patients were also screened for psychosocial distress (using the Distress Thermometer) and for psychosocial issues (using the Problem Checklist). Any relationship between malnutrition and psychosocial distress was determined by regression and correlation analysis. We also used t-tests to compare distress levels for patients with and without specific nutrition-related symptoms.

RESULTS

The study group included 80 men and 19 women [mean age: 58.4 ± 10.9 years (range: 23-85 years)]. The correlation between poorer nutrition status and level of psychological distress was significant r = 0.37 (p < 0.001). Specifically, reduced food intake and symptoms were both positively associated with distress: r = 0.27 and r = 0.29 respectively, both significant at p < 0.01. After controlling for the effects of psychosocial problems and pain, nutrition status remained a significant predictor of distress, explaining 3.8% of the variance in the distress scores of the patients (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Malnutrition and symptoms were strongly related to distress in patients with advanced head-and-neck cancer. Our results suggest the need for further research into the complex relationship between nutrition status and distress and into the management of both nutrition and distress in cancer care.

Independent contributors to overall quality of life in people with advanced cancer

Background:

The definition of health for people with cancer is not focused solely on the physiology of illness and the length of life remaining, but is also concerned with improving the well-being and the quality of the life (QOL) remaining to be lived. This study aimed to identify the constructs most associated with QOL in people with advanced cancer.

Methods:

Two hundred three persons with recent diagnoses of different advanced cancers were evaluated with 65 variables representing individual and environmental factors, biological factors, symptoms, function, general health perceptions and overall QOL at diagnosis. Three independent stepwise multiple linear regressions identified the most important contributors to overall QOL. R² ranking and effect sizes were estimated and averaged by construct.

Results:

The most important contributor of overall QOL for people recently diagnosed with advanced cancer was social support. It was followed by general health perceptions, energy, social function, psychological function and physical function.

Conclusions:

We used effect sizes to summarise multiple multivariate linear regressions for a more manageable and clinically interpretable picture. The findings emphasise the importance of incorporating the assessment and treatment of relevant symptoms, functions and social support in people recently diagnosed with advanced cancer as part of their clinical care.

Clinical review of physical activity and functional considerations in head and neck cancer patients

Patients facing head and neck cancer treatment are profoundly vulnerable to physiologic and functional disability. Exercise and nutrition have been shown to have many benefits in cancer patients, but much of this work has been performed in groups of breast, colon, and prostate cancer patients. Limited data exists regarding the role of exercise and nutrition in the management of head and neck cancer patients given their unique set of challenges relating to the cancer as well as its treatment. In this paper, we review the existing literature about general or recreational physical exercise as well as nutrition in this patient population as it pertains to lean muscle body composition, functional well-being, and overall quality of life.

La revelación del diagnóstico en oncología: una investigación transcultural Brasil-España

Objetivo: examinar aspectos transculturales de la revelación del diagnóstico de cáncer en pacientes brasileños y españoles. Método: Se realizó una investigación cualitativa en la que fueron entrevistados 28 pacientes en quimioterapia (14 brasileños y 14 españoles). El análisis de contenido identificó tres ejes temáticos: 1) Cómo fue revelado el diagnóstico; 2) Contexto en que el diagnóstico fue revelado y 3) Quién reveló el diagnóstico. Resultados: existen particularidades en la manera de revelar el diagnostico entre los dos países. En Brasil aún ocurre que el enfermo puede ser derivado a un oncólogo sin una explicación satisfactoria previa sobre su estado de salud. Aunque en los dos países existan relatos de comunicación de diagnóstico en el contexto apropiado (consulta), también ha aparecido revelación de manera informal (por teléfono) sin un ambiente adecuado para que el paciente sea acogido y tenga posibilidad de expresar sus miedos y sus dudas. Conclusión: es necesario invertir en la formación profesional para mejorar la habilidad de comunicación y educación en salud para tratar pacientes con cáncer.