Evidence-based Palliative Care Approaches to Non-pain Physical Symptom Management in Cancer Patients

Psycho-Educational and Rehabilitative Intervention to Manage Cancer Cachexia (PRICC) for Advanced Patients and Their Caregivers: Lessons Learned from a Single-Arm Feasibility Trial

Background: Key elements in cancer cachexia (CC) management are personalized and multimodal interventions, but it is hard for some patients to follow programs based on several components. We examined the feasibility of a bimodal intervention, including a psycho-educational component and exercises, to support patients and their caregivers in managing CC; Methods: Prospective mixed-methods pilot study explored feasibility data, changes in patient-reported outcomes, and performance outcomes over time in a convenient sample of 30 consecutive CC patients and their caregivers. Results: Twenty-four dyads consented to participate. Twenty dyads received at least two psycho-educational sessions, so the psycho-educational component was feasible for 83.3% of the sample. Six dyads participated in at least fourteen out of twenty-seven rehabilitation sessions, so the exercise program was feasible for 25.0% of the sample. Six dyads showed compliance greater than 50% for both components of the bimodal intervention. Conclusions: While we did not meet our primary feasibility endpoint and had mixed acceptability, our experience provides insight into the challenges and lessons learned in implementing a primary palliative care intervention for CC. More robust studies are needed to help clinicians understand the best exercise program for CC patients, to be included in a multimodal intervention.

Role of Cannabidiol for Improvement of the Quality of Life in Cancer Patients: Potential and Challenges

There is currently a growing interest in the use of cannabidiol (CBD) to alleviate the symptoms caused by cancer, including pain, sleep disruption, and anxiety. CBD is often self-administered as an over-the-counter supplement, and patients have reported benefits from its use. However, despite the progress made, the mechanisms underlying CBD’s anti-cancer activity remain divergent and unclear. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of molecular mechanisms to determine convergent anti-cancer actions of CBD from pre-clinical and clinical studies. In vitro studies have begun to elucidate the molecular targets of CBD and provide evidence of CBD’s anti-tumor properties in cell and mouse models of cancer. Furthermore, several clinical trials have been completed testing CBD’s efficacy in treating cancer-related pain. However, most use a mixture of CBD and the psychoactive, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and/or use variable dosing that is not consistent between individual patients. Despite these limitations, significant reductions in pain and opioid use have been reported in cancer patients using CBD or CBD+THC. Additionally, significant improvements in quality-of-life measures and patients’ overall satisfaction with their treatment have been reported. Thus, there is growing evidence suggesting that CBD might be useful to improve the overall quality of life of cancer patients by both alleviating cancer symptoms and by synergizing with cancer therapies to improve their efficacy. However, many questions remain unanswered regarding the use of CBD in cancer treatment, including the optimal dose, effective combinations with other drugs, and which biomarkers/clinical presentation of symptoms may guide its use.

Development and validation of a rapid psychosocial well-being screening tool in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

The Role of Nurse in the Multidisciplinary Management of Cancer Cachexia

Cancer cachexia is a complex syndrome for which multidisciplinary management through collaboration has the potential to improve patient outcomes and efficiency of care, through the integration of nursing into practice. These authors conducted a literature review of PubMed, EBSCO, OVID, and ProQuest for publications on the roles and responsibilities of nurses who are working in multidisciplinary teams for the management of cancer cachexia. We limited our search parameters for the literature review such that: (1) the included papers were published in the English language from January 2000 to February 2021 and (2) the included papers featured an adult patient population. Based on this review, cancer cachexia can be characterized as an involuntary loss of body weight that is combined with a dysregulation in the control of energy homeostasis and protein loss, which leads to poor clinical outcomes in patients. Cancer cachexia has been recognized as having multidimensional etiologies that are related to the nutritional and metabolic systems, as well as other physical and physiological systems, and to symptoms that manifest concurrently to the cachexia. While the clinical identification and taxonomic classification of cancer cachexia are usually associated with an observable degree of weight loss and muscular atrophy in a patient, clinical evidence of inflammation and related symptoms should be considered (in addition to the weight loss and muscular atrophy) in the diagnosis and evaluation of cancer cachexia, as will be argued in this paper. Early diagnosis, appropriate clinical assessment, and evaluation of cancer cachexia are crucial to predicting the onset of the condition and managing its symptoms when it occurs. Various tools have been developed for the clinical evaluation and diagnosis of cancer cachexia which reflect the multitudinous manifestations of the condition. Due to the diversity of its manifestations, multimodal therapy has gained popularity for the management of cancer cachexia. Multimodal therapy includes combined pharmacologic intervention, nutrition supplements, nutritional consultation, physical exercise, and symptom control. As these authors will demonstrate in this paper, this mode of multidisciplinary team management is increasingly supported by scientific evidence and as such, can be seen as essential for high-quality cancer cachexia management. Nursing plays an important role in the multidisciplinary care team model for cancer cachexia management, as nurses are well situated to perform screening, referral, coordination, nutritional consultation, physical exercise consultation, direct nutritional nursing, psychosocial support, symptom control, and hospice care. However, an increased focus on education, skills training, and tool development (as well as adoption of tools) on the part of nurses and other multidisciplinary team members is required to meet the goal of efficient care and improved outcomes for patients with cancer cachexia. These authors demonstrate that increasing roles and responsibilities for nurses in the management of cancer cachexia is a valuable area to explore in the literature and to implement in clinical practice. Our review aims to summarize the etiology and epidemiology, mechanisms-of-action, and multitudinous manifestations of cancer cachexia, the therapies that are used in cancer cachexia care and the management approaches by which this care is organized. Finally, these authors emphasize nurses' responsibilities in this mode of cancer cachexia multidisciplinary team management, which represents a fruitful benefit both in the research literature and in clinical settings.

Associations of practical, emotional, and physical problems with psychosocial distress among cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

To better understand the relationship between cancer patient distress and psychosocial variables, including problem types, to improve ability to predict and address psychosocial need.

METHODS

A variation of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Thermometer (DT) was administered and collected at four sites from an Integrated Network Cancer Program (INCP). The presence of moderate/severe distress was examined relative to patient demographics, disease characteristics, and psychosocial problems.

RESULTS

Distress scores were positively correlated with all problem counts. For every count increase of practical, emotional, and physical problems, and for every cancer stage increase the odds of reporting a moderate/severe distress score was significantly higher. Relative to patients with one cancer treatment type, patients with three cancer treatment types were significantly less likely to report moderate/severe distress.

CONCLUSION

Problem count could be a useful indicator for clinical intervention. Stage and number of treatment types may also be considered clinically relevant distress predictors.

Psychoeducational and rehabilitative intervention to manage cancer cachexia (PRICC) for patients and their caregivers: protocol for a single-arm feasibility trial

INTRODUCTION

Half of all patients with cancer experience cachexia, with the prevalence rising above 80% in the last weeks of life. Cancer cachexia (CC) is a complex relational experience that involves the patient-family dyad. There are no studies on the association between the psychoeducational component and the rehabilitative component of dyads for supporting more functional relationships in the management of CC.The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a psychoeducational intervention combined with a rehabilitative intervention on dyads.The secondary objective is to improve the quality of life (QoL) and acceptability of the intervention.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This mixed-methods study with a nonpharmacological interventional prospective includes 30 consecutive cancer patients with cachexia and refractory cachexia and their caregivers, assisted by the Specialised Palliative Care Team. The recruitment will last 1 year. The intervention involves two components: (1) psychoeducational intervention: 3 weekly face-to-face consultations between dyads and trained nurses to help the dyads cope with involuntary weight loss and strengthening dyadic coping resources and (2) rehabilitation intervention: 3 biweekly educational sessions between dyads and trained physiotherapists focused on self-management, goal-setting, physical activity with three home exercise sessions per week.The primary endpoint will be in adherence to the intervention, indicated by a level of completion greater than or equal to 50% in both components. The secondary endpoints will be QoL (Functional Assessment of Anorexia-Cachexia Therapy), caregiver burden (Zarit Burden), physical performance (Hand-Grip strength and 30 seconds sit-to-stand test), and the acceptability of the intervention (ad hoc semi-structured interviews with the dyads and the healthcare professionals).

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee Area Vasta Emilia Nord, Azienda USL-IRCSS Reggio Emilia, Italy, number: 73/2019/SPER/IRCCSRE. The authors will provide the dissemination of the results through publication in international scientific journals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT04153019.

Nutritional interventions for older adults in palliative care: a scoping review

Abstract Objective To analyze the nutritional interventions adopted in older people in palliative care found in the literature. Method A scoping review was conducted involving a search of the following databases: PubMed, LILACS, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE and of the gray literature through Google Scholar, OpenGrey and ProQuests & Theses Global, without restrictions on publication date or language. The searches were performed using the descriptors and keywords, combined using Boolean operators AND and OR: “Nutritional Intervention”, “Intervenção Nutricional”, “Palliative Care”, “Cuidados Paliativos”, “Aged” and “Idosos”. Results Of the 5,942 studies found, 13 studies were selected. The backward citation search strategy identified 13 additional studies, giving a final total of 26 studies. Nutritional interventions adopted in older people in palliative care predominantly comprised nutritional counseling, oral nutritional supplementation and artificial nutrition through enteral and parenteral nutrition. These interventions focused on quality of life, symptom management and nutritional status. Conclusion Although there are gaps in the literature regarding nutritional interventions for older adults in palliative care, the importance of the role of nutritionists in promoting quality of life and relieving suffering of this population is clear.

Terminological Usage Related to Dyspnea by Nursing Staff: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Survey

In recent years, additional expressions such as 'sensation of breathing discomfort' and 'discomfort of dyspnea' are being used in daily nursing care in Japan. To better understand the current status of the use of these terms by nurses, and to ascertain what the term 'dyspnea' may not express, we designed an original questionnaire and conducted a study with all nurses at our hospital. The questionnaire included questions to determine if nurses used these terms, and in what context. Of the 279 nurses in our hospital, 225 (80.6%) responded. Three-quarters of nurses indicated that they use these terms in clinical nursing practice. There was no difference in the usage of these terms between nurses who had or had not worked in a respiratory outpatients/ward. However, the percentage of nurses using these terms was higher amongst those with 10 years or less nursing experience compared with those with more than 10 years' experience. Open-ended questions revealed that these terms were used to communicate information between nurses and between nurses and patients' families. Our observations need to be verified in large-scale studies to determine if these terms are meaningful for nursing practice in that they describe something not expressed with 'dyspnea'. There is the possibility of confusion due to the use of inappropriate terms and a lack of education on the subject. Many nurses used these terms, and there may be things that the term 'dyspnea' could not express. The results of this study can be used to identify something that is lacking in communication about dyspnea between nurses, nurses and patients, and nurses and patients' families.

Frequency, Severity, and Distress Associated With Physical and Psychosocial Symptoms at Home in Children and Adolescents With Cancer

Malignancy- and cancer-related treatments lead to multiple symptoms. Although treatments focus on cure, few research studies have examined the symptoms that accompany these aggressive and complicated treatments. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the symptoms experienced by children at home. Children (n = 25) and adolescents (n = 33) diagnosed with cancer completed the Memorial Symptoms Assessment Scale during the 5 days at home after discharge from the hospital. The most frequent physical symptoms were fatigue (52.1%), nausea (50.7%), lack of appetite (43.7%), and pain (42.3%). The most frequent psychological symptoms were difficulty sleeping (21.1%), worrying (18.3%), feeling sad (18.3%), and feeling nervous (16.9%). Significant differences were found in the overall physical and psychosocial symptoms and Global Distress Index in patients with and without pain, fatigue, and nausea. Results indicated that physical and psychosocial symptoms and Global Distress Index increased as severity of pain, nausea, and fatigue increased. Children and adolescents were experiencing many symptoms at home but were often not reporting them.