Is quality of life predictive of the survival of patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma?

Patient-Reported Outcomes to Achieve Person-Centered Care for Aging People With Kidney Disease

Person-centered care is a system of care delivery that supports effective patient-clinician communication and empowers patients to partner with their clinical providers to develop goal-concordant treatment plans. Models of person-centered care often involve the implementation of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to measure patients' symptoms and quality of life as they navigate complex chronic health conditions. Models of person-centered care have been particularly effective in improving the quality of care delivery for older adults as well as younger adults with aging-associated conditions such as physical function decline. Though PROs have been developed and validated in kidney disease, they are not routinely implemented in clinical practice. Most individuals with kidney disease are 65 and older, but many younger individuals with kidney disease also experience aging-associated conditions earlier than in the general population. Thus, PROs represent an important tool for achieving person-centered care in groups with kidney disease who are the most vulnerable to adverse health outcomes and excess health care utilization. In this article, we aim to move toward more routine implementation of PROs in kidney care for aging adults. To identify the most clinically relevant PROs for this group and understand the ideal mode and context in which to implement PROs, we will (1) provide an evidence-based summary of PROs with the greatest prognostic significance in the general population and in kidney disease, including those specific to older adults; (2) describe barriers to the implementation of PROs in kidney care with a special focus on the needs of older adults and younger adults with aging-associated conditions; and (3) conclude with our evidence-based recommendations for the content, time, and context in which PROs should be implemented to achieve person-centered kidney care for aging adults. Semin Nephrol 36:x-xx © 20XX Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HPV+ head and neck cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles communicate with TRPV1+ neurons to mediate cancer pain

ABSTRACT

Severe pain is often experienced by patients with head and neck cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis. Despite its frequency and severity, current treatments fail to adequately control cancer-associated pain because of our lack of mechanistic understanding. Although recent works have shed some light of the biology underlying pain in HPV-negative oral cancers, the mechanisms mediating pain in HPV+ cancers remain unknown. Cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (cancer-sEVs) are well positioned to function as mediators of communication between cancer cells and neurons. Inhibition of cancer-sEV release attenuated pain in tumor-bearing mice. Injection of purified cancer-sEVs is sufficient to induce pain hypersensitivity in naive mice that is prevented by QX-314 treatment and in Trpv1-/- mice. Cancer-sEVs triggered calcium influx in nociceptors, and inhibition or ablation of nociceptors protects against cancer pain. Interrogation of published sequencing data of human sensory neurons exposed to human cancer-sEVs suggested a stimulation of protein translation in neurons. Induction of translation by cancer-sEVs was validated in our mouse model, and its inhibition alleviated cancer pain in mice. In summary, our work reveals that HPV+ head and neck squamous cell carcinoma-derived sEVs alter TRPV1+ neurons by promoting nascent translation to mediate cancer pain and identified several promising therapeutic targets to interfere with this pathway.

The Sarcoma-Specific Instrument to Longitudinally Assess Health-Related Outcomes of the Routine Care Cycle

Patient-based health related quality of life (HRQoL) measurements are associated with an improvement in quality of care and outcomes. For a complex disease such as sarcoma, there is no disease-specific questionnaire available which covers all clinically relevant dimensions. Herein, we report on the development of an electronically implemented, sarcoma-specific instrument to assess health-related outcomes, which encompasses a combination of generic questionnaires tailored to the respective disease and treatment status covering the entire longitudinal care cycle. An interoperable digital platform was designed to provide a node between patients and physicians and to integrate the sarcoma-specific HRQoL instrument with patient and physician-based quality indicators to allow longitudinal structured real-world-time data evidence analytics. This approach enables the prediction modeling of disease, and by attributing cost tags to quality indicators, treatment effectiveness for a given disease will be directly correlated with financial expenses, which may ultimately lead to a more sustainable healthcare system.

Association between quality of life questionnaire at diagnosis and survival in patients with lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Patients with lung cancer experience considerable symptom burden, which can decrease patients' QOL. Our aim was to investigate the association between QOL questionnaire at diagnosis and survival of lung cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a multicenter study of lung cancer patients at 7 medical centers of the Catholic University of Korea that responded to a quality of life questionnaire between December 1, 2017 and December 31, 2020. We analyzed 5 functional (physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning) and nine symptom (fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhea, and financial difficulties) scales and examined their associations with survival. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the prognostic value.

RESULTS

In total, 1297 lung cancer patients were enrolled. The results of multivariable analysis showed that female, younger age, never smoker, stage I or II cancer, higher physical functioning, and emotional functioning were statistically significant favorable predictors for survival. On subgroup analysis according to early (stage I and II) or advanced (stage III or IV) stage, higher physical functioning and emotional functioning were each found to be favorable prognostic factors for survival. Meanwhile, fatigue, pain, insomnia, and financial difficulties were found to be associated with low scores on the emotional functioning scale; fatigue, pain, dyspnea, and financial difficulties were associated with low scores on the physical functioning scale.

CONCLUSION

Assessing the physical functioning and emotional functioning scales of QOL questionnaire items at diagnosis can help clinicians predict the survival of patients with lung cancer.

Quantitative preoperative patient assessments are related to survival and procedure outcome for osseous metastases

Aims

Our objective was to determine if preoperative patient-reported assessments are associated with survival after surgery for stabilization of skeletal metastases.

Patients and Methods

All patients with metastatic cancer to bone and indications for skeletal stabilization surgery were approached to participate in a prospective cohort study at a tertiary care center from 2012 to 2017. Of the 208 patients who were eligible, 195 (94%) completed the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) preoperatively and underwent surgical treatment of skeletal metastases with complete or impending fractures; the sample encompassed a range of cancer diagnoses and included cases of both internal fixation and endoprosthetic replacement. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify associations between SF-36 scores and survival.

Results

In a model adjusted for clinical factors, patients' mental and physical SF-36 component summary scores were significantly associated with survival, as was their SF-36 composite score (P = 0.004, P = 0.015, and P < 0.001, respectively). Scores in the general health, vitality, and mental health domains were each strongly associated with survival (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Patients' preoperative assessments of their health status are associated with their survival after surgery for skeletal metastases. Patient-reported assessments have the potential to contribute unique information to models that estimate patient survival, as part of efforts to provide optimal, individualized care and make informed decisions about the type and magnitude of surgery for metastatic bone disease that will last the patient's lifetime.

Association of Fatigue and Outcomes in Advanced Cancer: An Analysis of Four SWOG Treatment Trials

PURPOSE

Patient-reported outcomes may be associated with cancer outcomes. We evaluated clinically significant fatigue (CSF), overall survival, adverse events (AEs), and quality of life (QOL) during cancer treatment.

METHODS

We compared outcomes in four phase II or III chemotherapy trials, two advanced non-small-cell lung cancer and two advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer, with or without baseline CSF. CSF was defined as a rating of two or greater on the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy fatigue question or a European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 fatigue symptom score of 50% or greater. Survival was compared according to CSF using Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression models. Differences in AE rates by CSF were assessed via chi-squared tests, and QOL changes from baseline to 3 months via linear regression.

RESULTS

Of 1,994 participants, 1,907 (median age 69 years, range: 32-91) had complete baseline QOL survey data, with 52% reporting CSF at baseline. For the two hormone-refractory prostate cancer studies, baseline CSF was associated with higher mortality rates, with adjusted hazard ratios of (95% CI, P value) 1.32 (1.13 to 1.55, P < .001) and 1.31 (1.02 to 1.67, P = .03) and with increased incidence of grade 3-5 constitutional (16.5% v 9.4%, P = .002; 13.9% v 6.3%, P = .002) and neurologic (11.7% v 6.1%, P = .006; 9.0% v 3.9%, P = .01) AEs, respectively. Baseline CSF was associated with a higher mortality rate in one non-small-cell lung cancer study: hazard ratio 1.44 and 1.04 to 2.00, P = .03.

CONCLUSION

Oncology trial participants with baseline CSF had poorer survival and experienced more AEs than participants without CSF. This indicates fatigue as an important baseline prognostic factor in oncology treatment trials.

One-Year Quality of Life Trends in Early-Stage Lung Cancer Patients After Lobectomy

Objective: Quality of Life (QoL) is an important predictor of patient's recovery and survival in lung cancer patients. The aim of the present study is to identify 1-year trends of lung cancer patients' QoL after robot-assisted or traditional lobectomy and investigate whether clinical (e.g., pre-surgery QoL, type of surgery, and perioperative complications) and sociodemographic variables (e.g., age) may predict these trends.

Methods: An Italian sample of 176 lung cancer patients undergoing lobectomy completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire—Core 30 (QLQ-C30) at the pre-hospitalization (t0), 30 days (t1), 4 months (t2), 8 months (t3), and 12 months (t4) after surgery. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics (age, gender, perioperative complications, and type of surgery) were also collected. The individual change over time of the 15 dimensions of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the effects of pre-surgery scores of QoL dimensions, type of surgery, perioperative complications, and age on patients' QoL after surgery were studied with the individual growth curve (IGC) models.

Results: Patients had a good recovery after lobectomy: functioning subscales improved over time, while most of the symptoms became less severe over the care process. Perioperative complications, type of surgery, pre-surgery status, and age significantly affected these trends, thus becoming predictors of patients' QoL.

Conclusion: This study highlights different 1-year trends of lung cancer patients' QoL. The measurement of pre- and post-surgery QoL and its clinical and sociodemographic covariables would be necessary to better investigate patients' care process and implement personalized medicine in lung cancer hospital divisions.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Used in Routine Care Predict for Survival at Disease Progression in Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures have been increasingly implemented in routine care to aid in clinical decision-making. However, the prognostic value of PRO measures as a tool for decision making is not easily interpreted by clinicians. Our aims were to explore the prognostic value of PRO measures at disease progression and the changes in PRO measures between treatment start (baseline) and disease progression.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Since 2014, patients with lung cancer have completed an electronic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires C30 and LC-13 before every outpatient visit at the Department of Oncology, Hospital Unit West, Jutland, Denmark. The patients' responses were used in routine care. Patients receiving palliative antineoplastic treatment were eligible for analysis if the questionnaire had been completed at the initiation of first-line treatment and at disease progression. The prognostic value of the scores was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazard model. A P value < .01 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 94 screened patients were included. At disease progression, survival could be predicted from the absolute score of the global health scale, 3 functional scales (physical, role, emotional), and 7 symptom scales (fatigue, pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis, lung cancer dyspnea, chest pain). In addition, changes in hemoptysis, dysphagia, dyspnea, and chest pain predicted for survival at progression.

CONCLUSION

PRO measures used in routine care can provide clinicians with relevant prognostic information about patients with lung cancer at disease progression. These results show the potential value of PRO measures when used in clinical decision-making.

Deterioration of Health-Related Quality of Life Scores under Treatment Predicts Longer Survival

Objectives

Baseline health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores predict survival, which has already been demonstrated in various studies. However, we were interested in whether changes in baseline scores during treatment are also significant predictors of survival.

Methods and Materials

We analysed the data of 400 consecutive cancer patients receiving radiochemotherapy. Leading diagnoses were head and neck cancer (34.5%), rectal cancer (24.5%), and lung cancer (13%). HRQoL was studied at baseline, six weeks after therapy and after each completed year after the start of therapy until drop out of the study using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. The change score was calculated as the baseline score subtracted from the score after therapy. Statistics included Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression.

Results

High global health status (p = 0.005) and low pain scores (p = 0.040) at baseline were related to favourable overall survival. Change scores of role functioning (p = 0.027), global health status (p < 0.018), and pain (p < 0.001) were predictive of overall survival. Pain was the superior predictor of survival (p = 0.001) among all variables and QoL scores studied by multivariate analysis. A deterioration in pain was associated with a 2.8 times higher chance of survival (HR 0.36).

Conclusions

Deterioration of HRQoL baseline pain score by cancer treatment is a favourable and superior prognostic factor for survival.

The impact of pain and opioids use on survival in cancer patients: Results from a population-based cohort study and a meta-analysis

The study aimed to explore whether cancer-related pain and opioids use are associated with the survival of cancer patients, and perform a cohort study and a meta-analysis to quantify the magnitude of any association.A retrospective cohort study was performed to analyze the impact of pain level, and opioids use on cancer-specific survival (CSS) in advanced cancer patients. Patients and relevant medical records were selected from the registry of the Radiation and chemotherapy division of Ningbo First Hospital between June 2013 and October 2017. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidential intervals (CIs) for CSS by opioids use were calculated by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The systematic review included relevant studies published before October 2018. The combined HRs and 95% CIs for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated using random-effect models.A total of consecutive 203 cancer patients were included in the cohort study. Kaplan-Meier curves indicate a negative association between CSS and cancer-related pain or opioids requirement, but less evidence of an association with the dose of opioids use. Multivariate models revealed that the pain level and opioids requirement were associated with shorter CSS, after adjusting for significant covariates. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that postoperative opioids use had a poor effect on PFS, and opioids use for cancer-related pain was associated with poor OS in cancer patients, while intraoperative opioids use was not associated with cancer survival.We concluded that cancer-related pain and opioids requirements are associated with poor survival in advanced cancer patients, and postoperative opioids use and opioids use for cancer-related pain may have an adverse effect on the survival of cancer patients.

Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Palliative Chemotherapy

The goal of this study was to explore quality of life in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in an attempt to single out features that could help predict the possibility of non-completion of chemotherapy. The survey tool was the Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30) with the module Lung Cancer 13 (LC-13) developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. The assessment of quality of life (QoL) was performed in 58 patients with advanced NSCLC before palliative chemotherapy and it was repeated in 43 patients who completed at least three cycles of chemotherapy. We found that the patients who failed to complete the chemotherapy course distinctly showed, in contradistinction to those who completed it, poor physical functioning in (67.6 ± 16.3 vs. 78.3 ± 21.3 points, respectively, p < 0.05) and the lack of appetite (27.1 ± 38.0 vs. 48.9 ± 37.5 points, respectively p < 0.05). At the end of palliative chemotherapy alopecia, sore throat, and constipation significantly worsened QoL, but global health status remained unchanged. In conclusion, poor physical functioning and loss of appetite seem to harbinger a risk of non-completion of chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC.

Strategies for interventional therapies in cancer-related pain-a crossroad in cancer pain management

PURPOSE

Interventional therapies are important to consider when facing cancer pain refractory to conventional therapies. The objective of the current review is to introduce these effective strategies into dynamic interdisciplinary pain management, leading to an exhaustive approach to supportive oncology.

METHODS

Critical reflection based on literature analysis and clinical practice.

RESULTS

Interventional therapies act on the nervous system via neuromodulation or surgical approaches, or on primitive or metastatic lesions via interventional radiotherapy, percutaneous ablation, or surgery. Interventional therapies such as neuromodulations are constantly evolving with new technical works still in development. Nowadays, their usage is better defined, depending on clinical situations, and their impact on quality of life is proven. Nevertheless their availability and acceptability still need to be improved. To start with, a patient's interdisciplinary evaluation should cover a wide range of items such as patient's performance and psychological status, ethical considerations, and physiochemical and pharmacological properties of the cerebrospinal fluid for intrathecal neuromodulation. This will help to define the most appropriate strategy. In addition to determining the pros and cons of highly specialized interventional therapies, their relevance should be debated within interdisciplinary teams in order to select the best strategy for the right patient, at the right time.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultimately, the use of the interventional therapies can be limited by the requirement of specific trained healthcare teams and technical support, or the lack of health policies. However, these interventional strategies need to be proposed as soon as possible to each patient requiring them, as they can greatly improve quality of life.

Opioid Dose and Survival of Patients with Incurable Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Preclinical studies show that opioids promote angiogenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis, resulting in shorter survival.

OBJECTIVE

To explore whether opioids are associated with the overall survival (OS) of patients with incurable nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study of patients with NSCLC.

SETTING

We investigated patients newly diagnosed with advanced or post-operative recurrent NSCLC between April 2013 and December 2015 at a single institute.

MEASUREMENTS

We evaluated OS, opioid requirements, opioid doses, pain levels, and prognostic factors of advanced NSCLC. The effects of variables on survival were analyzed using univariable and multivariable models. Patients were stratified according to oral morphine equivalents (OMEs)/day (<60 or ≥60 mg) to assess the association between opioid dose and OS.

RESULTS

We analyzed 150 patients, including 64 who received opioid treatment during follow-up. The median OS was 242 days in the opioid group and 627 days in the no-opioid group (log-rank p < 0.001). Multivariable models revealed that the opioid requirement was an independent predictor of shorter OS, after adjustment for prognostic variables, including sex, histology, stage, history of systemic chemotherapy, and performance status (hazard ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.137-2.631). There was no significant difference in OS between patients who received ≥60 mg OME/day for 250 days versus <60 OME/day for 242 days.

CONCLUSIONS

The opioid dose does not shorten the survival of patients with advanced NSCLC. The opioid requirement is associated with shorter survival when opioids are administered any time during the clinical course, independent of the influence of other key factors.

Histological subtype of lung cancer affects acceptance of illness, severity of pain, and quality of life

Introduction

Histologic classification of lung cancer plays an important role in clinical practice. Two main histological subtype of lung cancer: small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) differ in terms of invasiveness, response to treatment, and risk factors, among others.

Aims

To evaluate differences in acceptance of illness, level of perceived pain, and quality of life (QoL) between patients with SCLC and NSCLC.

Materials and methods

Two hundred and fifty-seven lung cancer patients, who were treated in 2015, completed Acceptance of Illness Scale, Visual Analog Scale for pain, and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 30-item Core Quality of Life Questionnaire and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 13-item Lung Cancer specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected. For statistical analysis, the Student t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used. For comparisons among three or more groups, analysis of variance was employed.

Results

Patients with SCLC had significantly worse health as measured with the presence of metastases, parameters of lung function, comorbidities, and number of previous hospitalizations. The Acceptance of Illness Scale score and Visual Analog Scale score were significantly worse in patients with SCLC than in those with NSCLC (24.58±8.73 vs 27.05±9.06; p=0.046 and 4.81±2.01 vs 4.17±1.97; p=0.003). Patients with SCLC achieved worse scores of all aspects of QoL than patients with NSCLC. Comparison with the reference values showed that all dimensions of functioning are impaired in patients with lung cancer regardless of its type; only the role functioning in patients with NSCLC remains unaffected.

Conclusion

Monitoring of QoL, personalized approach to treatment, and interventions for symptom management should be conducted in a tailored manner. Socioeconomic status in lung cancer patients, especially those suffering from SCLC, needs to be addressed.

Anxiety After Diagnosis Predicts Lung Cancer-Specific and Overall Survival in Patients With Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Population-Based Cohort Study

CONTEXT

The question as to whether anxiety and depression are related to mortality in patients with lung cancer is inconclusive.

OBJECTIVES

Therefore, the present study is examining associations of anxiety and depression in a large representative sample of patients with Stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODS

Patients (n = 684) were routinely assessed for anxiety and depression with the PsychoSocial Screen for Cancer questionnaire after diagnosis of lung cancer and before treatment initiation between 2004 and 2010. Survival data were retrieved in May 2012. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses had been used as statistical procedures allowing adjustment for demographic, biomedical, and treatment variables.

RESULTS

In analyses controlling for demographic, biomedical, and treatment prognosticators, anxiety but not depression was associated with increased lung cancer-specific (hazard ratio 1.04; 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.07; P = 0.035) and all-cause (hazard ratio 1.04; 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.07; P = 0.005) mortality. Secondary analyses revealed a confounder effect of performance status on the association between depression and mortality, such that the removal of performance status identified a significant relationship of depression on lung cancer-specific and all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSION

In a large population-based sample of patients with non-small cell lung cancer analyses demonstrated associations of anxiety with mortality, adding to the evidence that psychosocial factors might play a role in disease progression in this patient group. Because emotional distress is associated with continued smoking and lack of success of smoking cessation attempts, psychological interventions potentially could influence length of survival in lung cancer patients.

A systematic review of the impact of pain on overall survival in patients with cancer

PURPOSE

Pain commonly occurs in cancer patients, and has been associated with shorter survival. However, the importance of pain is less clear when analyzed with other known prognostic variables. This systematic review was performed to better understand how pain impacts overall survival (OS) in common cancers when key clinical variables are included in multivariate analysis.

METHODS

A Medline search was completed to find studies examining the relationship between pain, clinical variables, and OS in patients with breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer. Multivariate analysis included known prognostic variables including age, performance status, disease burden, and laboratory parameters.

RESULTS

Fifty studies met inclusion criteria. In patients with breast, colorectal, and lung cancer, pain was not a significant prognostic factor for OS on multivariate analysis in most studies. In contrast, several studies suggest that pain is an independent prognostic factor for OS in advanced prostate cancer, even when relevant clinical prognostic variables are included. However, analgesic use was often used as a surrogate for prostate cancer pain, making it difficult to determine whether pain or opioid exposure was more important in influencing survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Pain may be associated with shorter survival in patients with cancer, but the mechanism for this relationship is unknown. The available evidence is insufficient to definitively determine if pain independently influences survival in patients with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer. The majority of studies in prostate cancer show pain to be an independent prognostic factor for OS, and often also incorporate opioid analgesic use in multivariate analysis. Prospective studies are needed to better understand how opioid utilization and pain may affect cancer progression and survival in diverse malignancies.

Establishment of Personalized Pain Goals in Oncology Patients to Improve Care and Decrease Costs

PURPOSE

Cancer-related pain is common, negatively affects quality of life and survival, and often requires treatment with opioid analgesics. Patient-reported data that describe the incidence and severity of pain, medication use, and patient satisfaction with care are lacking.

METHODS

We analyzed 18 months of outpatient oncology clinic encounters from the electronic medical record to obtain data on pain levels and opioid and nonopioid treatments. In June 2014, we instituted a pain intervention by creating a pain management information handout for patients, educating clinicians on opioid cost-effectiveness, and implementing a nursing protocol to document personalized pain goals (PPGs).

RESULTS

Moderate to severe pain was reported in nearly 15% of patient encounters. We observed an increase in the percentage of encounters with a documented PPG of 16% to 71% ( P < .001). On average, PPG was achieved in 84% of patients. Rates of high-cost long-acting opioid prescriptions (oxycodone controlled release and fentanyl patches), as a total of all long-acting opioids, declined from 45% preintervention to 33% postintervention ( P = .005).

CONCLUSION

Our intervention improved rates of PPG documentation and decreased the number of prescriptions for high-cost long-acting opioids. Oncology clinics can implement simple quality improvement methods, such as asking patients about their PPG and educating clinicians about opioid costs, to improve outcomes and lower treatment costs.

Comparison of generic and lung cancer-specific quality of life instruments for predictive ability of survival in patients with advanced lung cancer

Background

Our purpose is to examine the relationship of Health related quality of life measured by EORTC QLQc30, QLQ-LC13; FACT-L, LCSS, Eq5D) with survival in advanced lung cancer patients. A total of 299 Lung Cancer (LC) patients were, included in this national multicenter Project entitled of “the LC Quality of Life Project (AKAYAK). Baseline scores were analyzed by using Cox’s proportional hazard regression to identify factors that influenced survival. Univariate and multivariate models were run for each of the scales included in the study.

Results

Mean and median survival were 12.5 and 8.0 months respectively. Clinical stage (as TNM), comorbidity; symptom scales of fatigue, insomnia, appetit loss and constipation were associated with survival after adjustment for age and sex. Global, physical and role functioning scales of QLQc30; physical and functional scales of LCS and TOI of the FACT-L was also associated with survival. Mobility and Usual activities dimensions of the Eq5D; Physical functioning and the constipation symptom scale of the QLQ-c30; and LCS and TOI scores of the FACT-L remained statistically significant after adjustment. LC13 and LCSS scales were not predictors of survival.

Conclusions

HRQOL serves as an additional predictive factor for survival that supplements traditional clinical factors. Besides the strong predictive ability of ECOG on survival, FACT-L and the Eq5D are the most promising HRQOL instruments for this purpose.

Inhibition of emotional needs and emotional wellbeing predict disease progression of chronic hepatitis C patients: an 8-year prospective study

Background

The role of psycosocial factors in the disease progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate the prognostic value of behavioral patterns and the quality of life (QOL) of patients with CHC.

Methods

Two hundred and forty Japanese CHC patients (mean age 62.4 years) were assessed for behavioral patterns (Stress Inventory), QOL (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual), and known prognostic factors at baseline then followed for a maximum of 8 years for disease progression, defined as either the first diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or hepatitis-related death.

Results

Forty-nine events occurred during the study period (46 newly diagnosed HCC cases, three hepatitis-related deaths). In a Cox proportional hazard model including known prognostic factors and treatment-related factors as time-dependent variables, behavioral patterns associated with inhibition of emotional needs (hazard ratio (HR): 1.35; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.02–1.77; p = 0.036) and QOL, representing emotional wellbeing (HR 0.60; 95 % CI 0.37–0.98; p = 0.041), were each associated with the risk of disease progression.

Conclusion

Psychosocial factors such as behavioral patterns relevant to the inhibition of emotional needs and emotional wellbeing independently affect the clinical course of patients with CHC.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13030-016-0075-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Use of the lung cancer-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire EORTC QLQ-LC13 in clinical trials: A systematic review of the literature 20 years after its development

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-Lung Cancer 13 (QLQ-LC13) covers 13 typical symptoms of lung cancer patients and was the first module developed in conjunction with the EORTC core quality-of-life (QL) questionnaire. This review investigates how the module has been used and reported in cancer clinical trials in the 20 years since its publication. Thirty-six databases were searched with a prespecified algorithm. This search plus an additional hand search generated 770 hits, 240 of which were clinical studies. Two raters extracted data using a coding scheme. Analyses focused on the randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Of the 240 clinical studies that were identified using the LC13, 109 (45%) were RCTs. More than half of the RCTs were phase 3 trials (n = 58). Twenty RCTs considered QL as the primary endpoint, and 68 considered it as a secondary endpoint. QL results were addressed in the results section of the article (n = 89) or in the abstract (n = 92); and, in half of the articles, QL results were presented in the form of tables (n = 53) or figures (n = 43). Furthermore, QL results had an impact on the evaluation of the therapy that could be clearly demonstrated in the 47 RCTs that yielded QL differences between treatment and control groups. The EORTC QLQ-LC13 fulfilled its mission to be used as a standard instrument in lung cancer clinical trials. An update of the LC13 is underway to keep up with new therapeutic trends and to ensure optimized and relevant QL assessment in future trials.

Association of opioid requirement and cancer pain with survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Pain is associated with shorter survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Lung cancer cells express opioid receptors. Opioids promote angiogenesis, tumour growth, and metastases, and shorten survival in animal models.

METHODS

We examined retrospectively if long-term opioid requirement, independently of chronic pain, is associated with reduced survival in 209 patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC. Opioid doses were converted to average oral morphine equivalents (OME). Patients were stratified by proportion of time they reported severe pain, and required <5 or ≥5 mg day^-1 OME. Effects of pain, opioid requirement, and known prognostic variables on overall survival were analysed.

RESULTS

Severe pain before chemotherapy initiation was associated with shorter survival (hazards ratio 1.39, 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.87, P=0.035). The magnitude of pain and opioid requirement during first 90 days of chemotherapy were predictive of shorter survival: patients with no/mild pain and requiring <5 mg day^-1 OME had 12 months longer median survival compared with those requiring more opioids, experiencing more pain, or both (18 compared with 4.2-7.7 months, P≤0.002). Survival differences (16 compared with 5.5-7.8 months, P<0.001) were similar when chronic pain and opioid requirement were assessed until death or last follow-up. In multivariable models, opioid requirement and chronic pain remained independent predictors of survival, after adjustment for age, stage, and performance status.

CONCLUSIONS

The severity of chronic cancer-related pain or greater opioid requirement is associated with shorter survival in advanced NSCLC, independently of known prognostic factors. While pain adversely influences prognosis, controlling it with opioids does not improve survival. Prospective studies should determine if pain control using equi-analgesic opioid-sparing approaches can improve outcomes.

Health-related quality of life as a prognostic factor in patients with advanced cancer

BACKGROUND

Evidence continues to accumulate regarding the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and survival across chronic diseases. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the prognostic value of HRQoL in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma after adjusting for sociodemographics, disease-related factors, and treatment-related factors.

METHODS

A total of 321 patients diagnosed with hepatocellular or cholangiocarcinoma were administered the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary instrument. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed to test the association between the 5 domains of HRQoL and survival.

RESULTS

Using Cox regression, overall HRQoL was found to be significantly associated with survival (P = .003) after adjusting for demographics, disease-specific factors, and treatment. Subscales of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary, including the Physical Well-Being (P = .02) and the Symptoms and Side Effects subscales (P = .05), were also found to be significantly associated with survival after adjusting for demographics, disease-specific factors, and treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

HRQoL was found to be prognostic of survival in patients with hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma while covarying for demographics, disease-specific factors, and treatment. Stratifying patients based on HRQoL when testing novel treatments may be recommended. Health-related quality of life was found to be prognostic of survival in patients with hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma while controlling for demographics, disease-specific factors, and treatment-related factors.

Quality of life after the initial treatments of non-small cell lung cancer: a persistent predictor for patients' survival

Background

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) before treatment may predict survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated the predictive role of HRQoL after the initial treatments, on the survival of these patients.

Methods

A prospective multi-center study conducted in northeastern France. The SF-36 and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ C-30) were mailed to patients 3 months after the end of the diagnostic process. High scores for functioning dimensions on both questionnaires indicated better QoL, and low scores for symptom dimensions on the QLQ C-30 indicated few symptoms. Cox regression modeling was used to identify predictive factors of survival.

Results

In total, 230 (63.5%) patients responded to the SF-36 and QLQ C-30. Before completing the questionnaires, almost 60% of patients had undergone some chemotherapy, about 10% underwent radio/chemotherapy or both and more than 30% underwent surgery or surgery plus chemo/radiotherapy.

On SF-36, the highest mean score was for social functioning dimension (55.5 ± 28), and the lowest was for the physical role dimension (17.9 ± 32.2).

On QLQ C-30, for the functioning dimensions, the highest mean score was for cognitive functioning (74.6 ± 25.9) and the lowest was for role functioning (47.2 ± 34.1). For symptom dimensions, the lowest score was for diarrhoea (11.5 ± 24.2) and the highest was for fatigue (59.7 ± 27.7).

On multivariate analysis, high bodily pain, social functioning and general health scores (SF-36) were associated with a lower risk of death (hazard ratio 0.580; 95% confidence interval [0.400–0.840], p = 0.004; HR 0.652 [0.455–0.935], p < 0.02; HR 0.625 [0.437–0.895] respectively). Better general QoL on QLQ C-30 was related to lower risk of death (HR 0.689 [0.501–0.946], p = 0.02).

Conclusion

Adding to previous knowledge about factors that may influence patients QoL, this study shows a persisting relationship between better perceived health in HRQoL after the initial treatment of NSCLC and better survival.

Does change in health-related quality of life score predict survival? Analysis of EORTC 08975 lung cancer trial

BACKGROUND

Little is known about whether changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores from baseline during treatment also predict survival, which we aim to investigate in this study.

METHODS

We analysed data from 391 advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients enrolled in the EORTC 08975 study, which compared palliative chemotherapy regimens. HRQoL was assessed at baseline and after each chemotherapy cycle using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13. The prognostic significance of HRQoL scores at baseline and their changes over time was assessed with Cox regression, after adjusting for clinical and socio-demographic variables.

RESULTS

After controlling for covariates, every 10-point increase in baseline pain and dysphagia was associated with 11% and 12% increased risk of death with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.11 and 1.12, respectively. Every 10-point improvement of physical function at baseline (HR=0.93) was associated with 7% lower risk of death. Every 10-point increase in pain (HR=1.08) was associated with 8% increased risk of death at cycle 1. Every 10-point increase in social function (HR=0.91) at cycle 2 was associated with 9% lower risk of death.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that changes in HRQoL scores from baseline during treatment, as measured on subscales of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13, are significant prognostic factors for survival.

Weekly administration of paclitaxel and carboplatin with concurrent thoracic radiation in previously untreated elderly patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: A case series of 20 patients

Elderly patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are frequently underrepresented in clinical trials that evaluate chemoradiotherapy, due to their poor functional status, coexisting illnesses and limited life expectancy. The Japan Clinical Oncology Group 0301 trial (JCOG0301) was the first study to demonstrate that thoracic radiation therapy (TRT) with daily low-dose carboplatin may improve the outcome of elderly patients with stage III NSCLC. However, the efficacy and safety profiles of chemoradiotherapy, including platinum doublets, have not been clearly determined in this patient population. We retrospectively assessed the efficacy and toxicity of weekly paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin and concurrent TRT in patients aged ≥75 years with previously untreated locally advanced NSCLC. Between February, 2004 and July, 2013, we collected the data of 20 patients treated with weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin for 6 weeks and concurrent TRT. The objective response rate was 90%, the disease control rate was 95%, the median progression-free survival was 8.63 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 5.7-16.7] and the median overall survival (OS) was 16.1 months (95% CI: 10.7-41.6). There were no grade 4 hematological or non-hematological toxicities and no reported treatment-related deaths. Therefore, platinum doublet therapy in combination with TRT did not provide a clinically significant survival benefit in our population of elderly patients with locally advanced NSCLC. However, the present study demonstrated the good feasibility and safety of this regimen. Further prospective clinical trials are required to evaluate the efficacy and safety of platinum doublet with TRT in elderly patients.

Prognostic factors in patients with terminal stage lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death.(1) Accurate prediction of survival in the terminal stage is important, because it may help patients make a rational decision. Although several prognostic scores have been described as effective indicators of outcome, these scores were intended for patients with other types of cancers. There is no prognostic score for patients with terminal-stage lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine prognostic factors for patients with terminal-stage lung cancer.

SETTING/SUBJECTS

Patients in our palliative care unit (PCU) were selected retrospectively and divided into two independent groups, training and testing. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on data from the training group to detect independent prognostic factors, while data from patients in the testing group were analyzed to validate whether these prognostic factors predicted near-term death.

RESULTS

Ninety-three patients (69 in the training group and 24 in the testing group) were included in the analyses. Multivariate analysis showed that fatigue, anorexia, desaturation, hyponatremia, and hypoalbuminemia were independent prognostic factors in the training group. Mean survival time in patients who had more than three of these five factors was 9.2±2.6 days (p=0.012). In the testing group, the presence of more than three of these five factors predicted death within two weeks, with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 75%.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that fatigue, anorexia, desaturation, hyponatremia, and hypoalbuminemia may be short-term prognostic factors in terminally ill lung cancer patients. In particular, the presence of more than three of these factors predicted death within two weeks.

Opioid requirement, opioid receptor expression, and clinical outcomes in patients with advanced prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Preclinical studies show that opioids stimulate angiogenesis and tumor progression through the mu opioid receptor (MOR). Although MOR is overexpressed in several human malignancies, the effect of chronic opioid requirement on cancer progression or survival has not been examined in humans.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis on 113 patients identified in the Minneapolis VA Tumor Registry (test cohort) and 480 patients from the national VA Central Cancer Registry (validation cohort) who had been diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer between 1995 and 2010 to examine whether MOR expression or opioid requirement is associated with disease progression and survival. All opioids were converted to oral morphine equivalents for comparison. Laser scanning confocal microscopy was used to analyze MOR immunoreactivity in prostate cancer biopsies. The effects of variables on outcomes were analyzed in univariable and multivariable models.

RESULTS

In patients with metastatic prostate cancer, MOR expression and opioid requirement were independently associated with inferior progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-2.07, P<.001 and HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13, P<.001, respectively) and overall survival (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.20-1.99, P<.001 and HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.10, P = .031, respectively). The validation cohort confirmed that increasing opioid requirement was associated with worse overall survival (HR 1.005, 95% CI 1.002-1.008, P = .001).

CONCLUSION

Higher MOR expression and greater opioid requirement are associated with shorter progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Nevertheless, clinical practice should not be changed until prospective randomized trials show that opioid use is associated with inferior clinical outcomes, and that abrogation of the peripheral activities of opioids ameliorates this effect.

Early palliative care and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Patients with advanced cancer experience a significant burden of physical symptoms and psychological distress at the end of life, and many elect to receive aggressive cancer-directed therapy. The goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering and promote quality of life (QOL) for patients and families. Traditionally, both the public and medical community have conceptualized the need for patients to make a choice between pursuing curative therapy or receiving palliative care. However, practice guidelines from the World Health Organization and leadership from the oncology and palliative care communities advocate a different model of palliative care that is introduced from the point of diagnosis of life-threatening illness. Early palliative care has been shown to provide benefits in QOL, mood, and health care utilization. Additionally, preliminary research has suggested that in contrast to fears about palliative care hastening death, referral to palliative care earlier in the course of illness may have the potential to lengthen survival, particularly in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer. This review summarizes the literature on potential survival benefits of palliative care and presents a model of how early integrated palliative care could potentially influence survival in patients with advanced cancer.

The association between perceived social support and continued smoking in cancer survivors

OBJECTIVE

With the increased survival rate of cancer patients, positive changes in health behaviors, including smoking cessation, are becoming progressively more important. While studies in the general population have demonstrated the beneficial effects of high perceived support of smoking cessation and continuing abstinence, few studies have addressed such issues in cancer survivors. We examined the factors related to continued smoking among cancer survivors with specific attention given to the role of perceived social support.

METHODS

A nationwide, multicenter survey was conducted with 1956 cancer patients. Smoking status at the time of diagnosis and at the time of survey, and perceived social support, as measured by the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire, were collected by self-reported questionnaire.

RESULTS

Among 493 participants who were smoking at the time of cancer diagnosis, 131 (26.6%) were continued smokers at the time of survey. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, current alcohol consumption (odds ratio, 3.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.91-5.65), early cancer stage (P(for trend)< 0.01), lung cancer diagnosis (odds ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.19-0.88), and high perceived social support (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.37-0.96) showed significant associations with continued smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

Cancer survivors with low perceived social support were more likely to continue smoking. Our study suggests that perceived social support may be an important factor for smoking cessation and maintenance of smoking cessation in this population.

Heterogeneity of chronic pain

Chronic pain is a widespread public health issue that has many effects on physical, emotional and cognitive functions. An estimated 10-55% of all adults are thought to have chronic pain. Chronic pain is a multifactorial condition, caused by the complex interplay of nociceptive, neuropathic or mixed pathogenic mechanisms. Chronic pain is associated with specific and non-specific medical conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, low back pain or spinal stenosis and is broadly categorized as cancer pain and non-cancer pain. Evaluation of chronic pain requires a clear understanding of the nature of the pain and its underlying pathophysiology. Adequate assessment of pain, using validated tools, is an essential prerequisite of successful pain management. Unidimensional scales are useful for the measurement of pain intensity, while multidimensional scales measure both pain intensity and the extent to which pain interferes with life activity and emotional functioning. Patients should be reassessed and followed up in order to monitor progress and measure improvements in pain.

The European organization for research and treatment of cancer quality of life questionnaire: implications for prognosis in pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between patient quality of life (QoL) and survival in pancreatic cancer patients undergoing care in a community hospital comprehensive cancer center.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A consecutive case series of 55 histologically confirmed pancreatic cancer treated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® at Midwestern Regional Medical Center was studied between 04/01 and 11/04. The EORTC QLQ-C30 was utilized to assess patient QoL. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival. Log-rank test was used to study the equality of survival distributions. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were then performed to evaluate the joint prognostic significance of those QoL and clinical factors that were shown to be prognostic upon univariate analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 55 patients, 28 were newly diagnosed and 27 had prior treatment history. The median age was 55 years (range 33-74 years). Majority (34) had stage IV disease at diagnosis. The QLQ-C30 parameters to show statistically significant associations with survival were physical, role, and emotional functioning scales and fatigue, appetite loss, constipation, and diarrhea symptom scales.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that patient QoL, as measured by the QLQ-C30 physical functioning scale, provides useful prognostic information, independent of multiple cancer symptoms, in patients with pancreatic cancer. While these findings require further investigation in large patient cohorts, they may have important implications for patient stratification in clinical trials, as well as aid in clinical decision making.

Quality of life predicts survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Background

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have a poor prognosis. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13 and survival in patients with NSCLC undergoing different treatments.

Methods

Investigators conducted a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) survey of 488 patients with NSCLC: 162 patients undergoing surgery, 312 patients without surgery, and their survival status was prospectively followed up. EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13 scores and clinical variables at baseline were analyzed using Cox’s proportional hazard regression to identify factors that influenced survival.

Results

Median survival of these 474 patients was 9.82 months. After adjustment, emotional functioning scale, and symptom scales of pain and nausea/vomiting are associated with survival in NSCLC patients with surgery whereas social functioning scale, and symptom scales for fatigue, appetite loss, and financial problems had a significant impact on survival in NSCLC patients without surgery. The results of multivariate analysis showed that none of QLQ-LC13 scales are significant predictors of survival. After simultaneously considering these scales, we found significant independent predictors of survival were nausea/vomiting (HR = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.02-0.63 for score >0 compared with =0) in NSCLC patients with surgery and appetite loss (HR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.26-2.49 for score >0 compared with =0) in NSCLC patients without surgery.

Conclusions

HRQOL provides additional predictive information that supplements traditional clinical factors, and is a new prognostic indicator for survival of NSCLC patients under different treatments.

The development of a supportive care needs assessment tool for Indigenous people with cancer

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the supportive care needs of Indigenous people with cancer and to date, existing needs assessment tools have not considered cultural issues for this population. We aimed to adapt an existing supportive care needs assessment tool for use with Indigenous Australians with cancer.

METHODS

Face-to-face interviews with Indigenous cancer patients (n = 29) and five focus groups with Indigenous key-informants (n = 23) were conducted to assess the face and content validity, cultural acceptability, utility and relevance of the Supportive Care Needs Survey - Short Form 34 (SCNS-SF34) for use with Indigenous patients with cancer.

RESULTS

All items from the SCNS-SF34 were shortened and changed to use more appropriate language (e.g. the word 'anxiety' was substituted with 'worry'). Seven questions were omitted (e.g. items on death and future considerations) as they were deemed culturally inappropriate or irrelevant and 12 items were added (e.g. accessible transport). Optional instructions were added before the sexual items. The design and response format of the SCNS-SF34 was modified to make it easier to use for Indigenous cancer patients. Given the extensive modifications to the SCNS-SF34 and the liklihood of a different factor structure we consider this tool to be a new tool rather than a modification. The Supportive care needs assessment tool for Indigenous people (SCNAT-IP) shows promising face and content validity and will be useful in informing services where they need to direct their attention for these patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Indigenous people with cancer have language, customs and specific needs that are not accommodated within the standard SCNS-SF34. Our SCNAT-IP improves acceptability, relevance and face validity for Indigenous-specific concerns. Our SCNAT-IP will allow screening for supportive care needs that are specific to Indigenous cancer patients' and greatly inform targeted policy development and practice.

Hemoglobin A1c improvements and better diabetes-specific quality of life among participants completing diabetes self-management programs: a nested cohort study

BACKGROUND

Numerous primary care innovations emphasize patient-centered processes of care. Within the context of these innovations, greater understanding is needed of the relationship between improvements in clinical endpoints and patient-centered outcomes. To address this gap, we evaluated the association between glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and diabetes-specific quality of life among patients completing diabetes self-management programs.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study nested within a randomized comparative effectiveness trial of diabetes self-management interventions in 75 diabetic patients. Multiple linear regression models were developed to examine the relationship between change in HbA1c from baseline to one-year follow-up and Diabetes-39 (a diabetes-specific quality of life measure) at one year.

RESULTS

HbA1c levels improved for the overall cohort from baseline to one-year follow-up (t (74) = 3.09, p = .0029). One-year follow up HbA1c was correlated with worse overall quality of life (r = 0.33, p = 0.004). Improvements in HbA1c from baseline to one-year follow-up were associated with greater D-39 diabetes control (β = 0.23, p = .04) and D-39 sexual functioning (β = 0.25, p = .03) quality of life subscales.

CONCLUSIONS

Improvements in HbA1c among participants completing a diabetes self-management program were associated with better diabetes-specific quality of life. Innovations in primary care that engage patients in self-management and improve clinical biomarkers, such as HbA1c, may also be associated with better quality of life, a key outcome from the patient perspective.

Symptoms tell it all: a systematic review of the value of symptom assessment to predict survival in advanced cancer patients

PURPOSE

To determine the prognostic meaning of symptoms in patients with advanced cancer.

DESIGN

Medline, Embase, Cochrane and Cinahl databases were systematically explored. The predicting symptoms were also evaluated in the three stages of palliative care: disease-directed palliation, symptom-oriented palliation and palliation in the terminal stage.

RESULTS

Out of 3167 papers, forty-four papers satisfied all criteria. Confusion, anorexia, fatigue, cachexia, weight loss, cognitive impairment, drowsiness, dyspnea, dysphagia, dry mouth and depressed mood were associated with survival in ≥ 50% of the studies evaluating these symptoms. Multivariate analysis showed confusion, anorexia, fatigue, cachexia, weight loss, dyspnea and dysphagia as independent prognostic factors in 30-56% of the studies. In the stage of disease-directed palliation anorexia, cachexia, weight loss, dysphagia and pain and in the stage of symptom-oriented palliation confusion, fatigue, cachexia, weight loss, dyspnea, dysphagia and nausea were shown to be independent predictors of survival in >30% of the studies.

CONCLUSION

Symptoms with independent predictive value are confusion, anorexia, fatigue, cachexia, weight loss, dyspnea and dysphagia. New insights are added by the variance between the three palliative stages.

Integrating palliative care with intensive care for critically ill patients with lung cancer

With newer information indicating more favorable outcomes of intensive care therapy for lung cancer patients, intensivists increasingly are willing to initiate an aggressive trial of this therapy. Concerns remain, however, that the experience of the intensive care unit for patients with lung cancer and their families often may be distressing. Regardless of prognosis, all patients with critical illness should receive high-quality palliative care, including symptom control, communication about appropriate care goals, and support for both patient and family throughout the illness trajectory. In this article, we suggest strategies for integrating palliative care with intensive care for critically ill lung cancer patients. We address assessment and management of symptoms, knowledge and skill needed for effective communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration for patient and family support. We review the role of expert consultants in providing palliative care in the intensive care unit, while highlighting the responsibility of all critical care clinicians to address basic palliative care needs of patients and their families.

Frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome in breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND

We aimed to determine the frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) in operated breast cancer patients and to research the relationship between FM and the severity of fatigue and quality of life in these breast cancer patients.

METHODS

The demographic data of 101 operated breast cancer patients were recorded. The patients who had pain were then classified as having regional pain (RP), widespread pain without FM (WP), and widespread pain with FM (WFM). The FM diagnosis was based on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. The severity of fatigue was evaluated with the Brief Fatigue Inventory, the disease impact was evaluated with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and the quality of life was evaluated with the European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer questionnaire Quality of Life-C30 (EORTC-QoL-C30).

RESULTS

There was no pain in 38 (37.6%) patients, whereas there was pain in 63 (62.4%) patients (N = 42, 41.6% had RP, N = 21, 20.8% had WP). Ten (9.9%) of the entire patient cohort were diagnosed as having FM according to the ACR criteria. There were no differences among the 3 groups in respect to demographic characteristics when patients were classified as RP (N = 42), WP (N = 11), and WFM (N = 10) groups. While there were negative correlations between the FIQ and EORTC-QoL-C30-function score (r = -0.727) and EORTC-QoL-C30-global score (r = -0.488), there was a positive correlation between the FIQ and EORTC-QoL-C30-symptom score (r = 0.726).

CONCLUSION

We note that the frequency of FM in the operated breast cancer patients in this study was higher than that reported in normal populations in the literature. Also, we found that the presence of FM had negative effects on the quality of life of the breast cancer patients. Accordingly, in the evaluation of widespread pain and complaints of fatigue in long-surviving breast cancer patients, after metastatic disease is excluded, the probability of FM should be kept in mind, so that appropriate treatment can be initiated to improve their functional status and quality of life.

Association between symptoms and their severity with survival time in hospitalized patients with far advanced cancer

OBJECTIVE

To assess the significance of symptoms and their severity for predicting survival of hospitalized patients with far advanced cancer.

METHODS

Two hundred fifty-six patients with far advanced cancer at the Cancer Center of Tongji Hospital, China were assessed by the Chinese version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-C). A Cox regression model was used to determine symptoms that could predict survival time. The log-rank test was used to compare the survival of patients accompanied by significant symptoms at different intensities.

RESULTS

Median survival was 49 days. Fatigue was the most common and severe symptom, followed by lack of appetite, disturbed sleep, and pain. Multivariate analysis showed that fatigue, shortness of breath, lack of appetite, and feeling sad were independent prognostic factors for survival time (p  < 0.05), with a hazard ratio of dying of 1.39, 1.13, 1.33, and 1.16, respectively. The survival time for patients with different intensities of the four symptoms showed significant differences (p  <  0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Fatigue, lack of appetite, feeling sad, and shortness of breath could be predictive factors for survival time of hospitalized patients with far advanced cancer. The more severe these symptoms are, the shorter will be survival time.

The prognostic role of quality of life assessment in breast cancer

While the use of quality of life (QoL) assessments has been increasing in oncology, few studies have examined the prognostic significance of QoL in breast cancer. We investigated the association between QoL at presentation and survival in breast cancer. We examined 1,511 breast cancer patients treated at two single-system cancer centers between January 2001 and December 2008. QoL was evaluated using the validated survey instrument EORTC-QLQ-C30. Patient survival was defined as the time interval between the date of first patient visit and the date of death from any cause/date of last contact. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic significance of QoL after controlling for the effects of age, tumor stage, and prior treatment history. Mean age at presentation was 52.5 years. There were 590 analytic and 921 non-analytic patients. Patient stage of disease at diagnosis was I, 335; II, 591; III, 290; IV, 159; and 136 indeterminate. Median overall survival was 32.8 months (95% CI: 27.6-38.0). On univariate analysis, QoL function and symptom scales that were predictive of survival were physical (p < 0.001), role (p < 0.001), cognitive (p = 0.003), social (p < 0.001), fatigue (p < 0.001), nausea/vomiting (p < 0.001), pain (p < 0.001), dyspnea (p < 0.001), loss of appetite (p < 0.001), and constipation (p < 0.001). On multivariate analyses, only role function (degree of impairment of work and/or leisure/hobby related activities) was significantly associated with survival. This study suggests that baseline QoL (in particular, the role function) provides useful prognostic information in breast cancer.

Quality of life assessment as a predictor of survival in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

There are conflicting and inconsistent results in the literature on the prognostic role of quality of life (QoL) in cancer. We investigated whether QoL at admission could predict survival in lung cancer patients.

METHODS

The study population consisted of 1194 non-small cell lung cancer patients treated at our institution between Jan 2001 and Dec 2008. QoL was evaluated using EORTC-QLQ-C30 prior to initiation of treatment. Patient survival was defined as the time interval between the date of first patient visit and the date of death from any cause/date of last contact. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression evaluated the prognostic significance of QoL.

RESULTS

Mean age at presentation was 58.3 years. There were 605 newly diagnosed and 589 previously treated patients; 601 males and 593 females. Stage of disease at diagnosis was I, 100; II, 63; III, 348; IV, 656; and 27 indeterminate. Upon multivariate analyses, global QoL as well as physical function predicted patient survival in the entire study population. Every 10-point increase in physical function was associated with a 10% increase in survival (95% CI = 6% to 14%, p < 0.001). Similarly, every 10-point increase in global QoL was associated with a 9% increase in survival (95% CI = 6% to 11%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, physical function, nausea/vomiting, insomnia, and diarrhea (p < 0.05 for all) in newly diagnosed patients, but only physical function (p < 0.001) in previously treated patients were predictive of survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Baseline global QoL and physical function provide useful prognostic information in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Predicting survival in prostate cancer: the role of quality of life assessment

Purpose

While the use of quality of life (QoL) assessment has been increasing in clinical oncology, few studies have examined its prognostic significance in prostate cancer. We investigated the association between QoL at presentation and survival in prostate cancer.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 673 patients treated at two single-system cancer centers between January 2001 and December 2008. QoL was evaluated using EORTC-QLQ-C30. Patient survival was defined as the time interval between the date of first patient visit and the date of death/date of last contact. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression was performed to evaluate the prognostic significance of QoL.

Results

Mean age at presentation was 63.2 years. Patient stage of disease at diagnosis was I, 4; II, 464; III, 76; IV, 107; and 22 indeterminate. Median overall survival was 89.1 months (95% CI: 46.1–132.0). QoL scales predictive of survival upon univariate analysis were physical, role, emotional, social, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, loss of appetite, and constipation (p < 0.01 for all). Multivariate analyses found fatigue (p = 0.02) and constipation (p = 0.01) to be significantly associated with survival.

Conclusions

Baseline QoL provides useful prognostic information in prostate cancer. These findings have important implications for patient stratification in clinical trials and may aid decision making in clinical practice.