Clinical Guidelines for Management of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Cancer Patients: The Japanese Society of Palliative Medicine Recommendations

Pharmacists' Behavioral Changes after Attending a Multi-Prefectural Palliative Care Education Program

Central to the pharmacist's role in palliative care is symptom management through direct participation in patient care and the provision of optimal pharmacotherapy to support patient outcomes. Consequently, palliative care requires extensive knowledge and action for patients with cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate how pharmacists' behavior changed after attending a palliative care educational program. We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey examining the behavior of pharmacists regarding palliative care before participating in the program, two months after participating in the program, and eight months after participating in the program to determine their behavior and changes over time. For all questions, scores were higher at two and eight months after attending the program than before attending the program (p < 0.05). In addition, no significant difference was observed between two and eight months after attending the program for any question (p = 0.504-1.000). The knowledge gained from the educational program was used to repeatedly intervene with patients with cancer in order to address the various symptoms they experienced and maintain their behavior. The proven effectiveness of this program serves as a stepping stone for nationwide rollout across Japan's 47 prefectures.

Advances in the treatment of malignant ascites in China

PURPOSE

Malignant ascites (MA) often occurs in recurrent abdominal malignant tumors, and the large amount of ascites associated with cancerous peritonitis not only leads to severe abdominal distension and breathing difficulties, but also reduces the patient's quality of life and ability to resist diseases, which usually makes it difficult to carry out anti-cancer treatment. The exploration of MA treatment methods is also a key link in MA treatment. This article is going to review the treatment of MA, to provide details for further research on the treatment of MA, and to provide some guidance for the clinical treatment of MA.

METHOD

This review analyzes various expert papers and summarizes them to obtain the paper.

RESULT

There are various treatment methods for MA, including systemic therapy and local therapy. Among them, systemic therapy includes diuretic therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, anti angiogenic therapy, CAR-T, and vaccine. Local therapy includes puncture surgery, peritoneal vein shunt surgery, acellular ascites infusion therapy, radioactive nuclide intraperitoneal injection therapy, tunnel catheter, and intraperitoneal hyperthermia chemotherapy. And traditional Chinese medicine treatment has also played a role in enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity to a certain extent.

CONCLUSION

Although there has been significant progress in the treatment of MA, it is still one of the clinical difficulties. Exploring the combination or method of drugs with the best therapeutic effect and the least adverse reactions to control MA is still an urgent problem to be solved.

Cancer management from a chronic gastrointestinal function perspective

Bowel dysfunction in cancer is a significant and challenging issue for both clinicians and patients. As cancer survival improves, the impact of gastrointestinal symptoms on quality of life is of ever-increasing relevance. This review aims to provide an overview of the common gastrointestinal complaints seen in cancer sufferers and discuss the principles of management and up to date treatment options available.

Is Low Volume Drainage of Ascites Associated With Improved Survival in Digestive System Cancer Patients With Malignant Ascites?-A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objectives: To determine whether the volume of paracentesis for malignant ascites in acute care hospital wards is associated with survival and symptom relief. Methods: Patients with malignant ascites caused by digestive system cancer who underwent paracentesis between January 2010 and April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed from medical records. Collected data included the drainage volume per paracentesis procedure, survival time from the first paracentesis procedure, symptoms, and adverse events. According to the volume per paracentesis procedure, we divided the patients into the "small-drainage" (≤1500 mL) and "standard-drainage" (>1500 mL) groups. Results: The median age of the 144 patients was 69 years, 33% were female, and 64% had gastrointestinal cancer. The median survival from the first paracentesis procedure was 36 days. Eighty-nine (61.8%) and 55 (38.2%) patients were allocated to the small-drainage and standard-drainage groups, respectively. The median number of paracentesis procedures in the small-drainage and standard-drainage groups was 12 and 7, respectively (P=.001). The median survival in the small-drainage and standard-drainage groups was 50 and 44 days, respectively (P=.76). The multivariate analysis showed that the amount of drainage per session was not significantly associated with survival. Symptoms improved similarly in the 2 groups. No serious adverse events were observed. Conclusions: Paracentesis was demonstrated to be effective and safe, irrespective of the amount of fluid drained, for patients with malignant ascites in an acute care hospital. Thus, a strategy of limiting the amount of drainage is not associated with longer survival.

Inoperable Bowel Obstruction in Ovarian Cancer: Prevalence, Impact and Management Challenges

Malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) is one of the most severe complications in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, with an estimated incidence up to 50%. Its presence is related to poor prognosis and a life expectancy measured in weeks for inoperable cases. Symptoms are usually difficult to manage and often require hospitalization, which carries a high burden on patients, caregivers and the healthcare system. Management is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach to improve clinical outcomes. Patients with inoperable MBO are treated medically with analgesics, antiemetics, steroids and antisecretory agents. Parenteral nutrition and gut decompression with nasogastric tube, venting gastrostomy or stenting may be used as supportive therapy. Treatment decision-making is challenging and often based on clinical expertise and local policies, with lack of high-quality evidence to optimally standardize management. The present review summarizes current literature on inoperable bowel obstruction in ovarian cancer, focusing on epidemiology, prognostic factors, clinical outcomes, medical management, multidisciplinary interventions and quality of life.

Effect of paracentesis on the survival of patients with terminal cancer and ascites: a propensity score-weighted analysis of the East Asian Collaborative Cross-cultural Study to Elucidate the Dying Process

PURPOSE

Paracentesis is among the most widely utilized treatments for malignant ascites (MA). However, paracentesis in patients with MA has the potential to be associated with life-shortening effects. Thus, this study aimed to investigate whether paracentesis affected the duration of survival in such patients.

METHODS

We performed a post hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter observational study investigating the dying process and end-of-life care in patients with terminal cancer, admitted to 23 palliative care units in Japan. Survival duration was compared between patients who did (paracentesis group) and did not undergo paracentesis (non-paracentesis group). We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to control for baseline covariates between groups.

RESULTS

Among the 1896 initially enrolled patients, 568 with ascites were included in the study cohort. Eighty-five (15.0%) patients underwent paracentesis. The primary tumor site was the pancreas (51.9%, n = 295), followed by the gastrointestinal tract (22.7%, n = 129). Non-adjusted median durations of survival were 22 days (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16-25) and 12 days (95% CI: 11-13) in the paracentesis and non-paracentesis groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.54-0.88; p = 0.003). The IPTW-adjusted median survival durations were 22 (95% CI: 16-25) and 16 days (95% CI: 12-22) in the paracentesis and non-paracentesis groups, respectively (HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.64-1.24; p = 0.492). No serious adverse events occurred in the paracentesis group.

CONCLUSIONS

Paracentesis does not negatively affect the survival of patients with cancer and MA and can be a standard treatment in palliative care settings.

Feasibility of a fast-track randomized controlled trial of cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy for patients with refractory malignant ascites

Background

Malignant ascites often causes discomfort in advanced cancer patients. Paracentesis is the most common treatment modality, but it requires frequently repeated treatment. Cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy (CART) may prolong the paracentesis interval, but controlled trials are lacking. We assessed the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of CART vs. paracentesis alone for patients with refractory malignant ascites.

Methods

This study was an open-label, fast-track, randomized controlled, feasibility trial. Patients admitted to four designated cancer hospitals who received no further anticancer treatments were eligible. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to a CART arm or control (simple paracentesis) arm. The feasibility endpoint was the percentage of patients who completed the study intervention. Secondary endpoints included paracentesis-free survival, patient’s request on the questionnaire for paracentesis (PRO-paracentesis)-free survival (the period until the patients first reported that they would want paracentesis if indicated), and adverse events.

Results

We screened 953 patients for eligibility. Of 61 patients with refractory malignant ascites, 21 patients were determined as eligible. Finally, 20 patients consented and were allocated; 18 patients (90%, 95% CI: 68.3–98.8) completed the study intervention. All patients had an ECOG performance status of 3 or 4. The median drained ascites volume was 3,200 mL in the CART arm and 2,500 mL in the control arm. In the CART arm, the median reinfused albumin volume was 12.6 g. Median paracentesis-free survivals were 5 days (95% CI: 2–6) in the CART arm, and 6 days (3–9) in the control arm. Median PRO-paracentesis-free survivals were 4 days (2–5) and 5 days (1–9), respectively. A total of 73% of patients received paracentesis within 2 days from their first request for the next paracentesis. One patient in the CART arm developed Grade 1 fever.

Conclusions

A fast-track randomized controlled trial of CART for patients with malignant ascites is feasible. The efficacy and safety of CART should be assessed in future trials. PRO-paracentesis-free survival may be a complementary outcome measure with paracentesis-free survival in future trials.

Trial registration

Registered at University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry as UMIN000031029. Registered on 28/01/2018.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09336-3.

Optimal Paracentesis Volume for Terminally Ill Cancer Patients With Ascites

CONTEXT

Patients with malignant ascites often suffer from distressing symptoms, especially in their end-of-life stage. Although paracentesis is the most common treatment modality to alleviate such symptoms, the optimal volume of paracentesis is not known.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the efficacy and safety of paracentesis by the drainage volume for terminally ill cancer patients with malignant ascites.

METHODS

This was part of a multicenter prospective observational study (EASED study). Consecutive adult patients with advanced cancer admitted to 23 participating palliative care units were eligible. We analyzed patients with malignant ascites who received paracentesis. We compared paracentesis-free survival (PFS) using Cox regression among three groups with different paracentesis volumes: minimum: ≤ 1500 mL, small: 1500-2500 mL, and moderate: > 2500 mL. Trends of the difference in the numerical rating scale of abdominal distension (0-10) and adverse events were compared among the 3 groups.

RESULTS

Of the 1926 patients enrolled, 673 developed ascites (symptomatic, n = 374 and asymptomatic, n = 299). Finally, we analyzed 87 patients with paracentesis. Median PFS was 7 days. Compared with a moderate volume, small-volume paracentesis was not a significant risk for shorter PFS (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.69-1.93), while a minimum volume was a significant risk (HR: 2.34). The abdominal distension intensity significantly decreased after paracentesis (median: 7.5 to 4.0), while the difference did not significantly increase as the volume of paracentesis rose (P = 0.61). No severe adverse event was observed.

CONCLUSION

Even small-volume paracentesis could alleviate abdominal distension of terminally ill cancer patients with malignant ascites without shortening the paracentesis interval compared with moderate-volume paracentesis. Small-volume paracentesis was a well-balanced treatment for these patients.

Evaluation of changes in pharmacist behaviors following a systematic education program on palliative care in cancer

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Attitudes, experience, and knowledge of healthcare professionals guide the care they provide and are particularly important factors affecting the quality of palliative care. Palliative care education for pharmacists is crucial for improving quality of care and effective participation on the palliative care team.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

We previously developed and reported a systematic and multifaceted pharmacist education program for cancer-related palliative care. We compared 12 behavioral changes immediately (August 2017) and two years after (October 2019) participation in this systematic education program (SEP) to evaluate if participants were performing pharmaceutical management appropriately and to assure that behaviors had not deteriorated.

FINDINGS

Of 88 participants in the SEP, 36 responded to the survey (response rate 40.9%). There was no significant difference in the behavioral change items of pharmacists immediately after participating in the SEP (2017) and two years later (2019) (4.47 vs. 4.58, P = .47).

SUMMARY

We confirmed that behavioral changes developed by the SEP were maintained over a significant time. This indicates that knowledge was firmly established in the participants such that they could continue utilizing it long after participating in the SEP. Our study showed that participating in this SEP not only enabled participants to acquire knowledge regarding palliative medicine but also led to continued behavioral changes based on this knowledge.

Nutritional features-based clustering analysis as a feasible approach for early identification of malnutrition in patients with cancer

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is prevalent that can impair multiple clinical outcomes in oncology populations. This study aimed to develop and utilize a tool to optimize the early identification of malnutrition in patients with cancer.

METHODS

We performed an observational cohort study including 3998 patients with cancer at two teaching hospitals in China. Hierarchical clustering was performed to classify the patients into well-nourished or malnourished clusters based on 17 features reflecting the phenotypic and etiologic dimensions of malnutrition. Associations between the identified clusters and patient characteristics were analyzed. A nomogram for predicting the malnutrition probability was constructed and independent validation was performed to explore its clinical significance.

RESULTS

The cluster analysis identified a well-nourished cluster (n = 2736, 68.4%) and a malnourished cluster (n = 1262, 31.6%) in the study population, which showed significant agreement with the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria (both P < 0.001). The malnourished cluster was negatively associated with the nutritional status, physical status, quality of life, short-term outcomes and was an independent risk factor for survival (HR = 1.38, 95%CI = 1.22-1.55, P < 0.001). Sex, gastrointestinal symptoms, weight loss percentages (within and beyond 6 months), calf circumference, and body mass index were incorporated to develop the nomogram, which showed high performance to predict malnutrition (AUC = 0.972, 95%CI = 0.960-0.983). The decision curve analysis and independent external validation further demonstrated the effectiveness and clinical usefulness of the tool.

CONCLUSIONS

Nutritional features-based clustering analysis is a feasible approach to define malnutrition. The derived nomogram shows effectiveness for the early identification of malnutrition in patients with cancer.

Medical Management of Inoperable Malignant Bowel Obstruction

OBJECTIVE

To review medical management of inoperable malignant bowel obstruction.

DATA SOURCES

A literature review using PubMed and MEDLINE databases searching malignant bowel obstruction, etiology, types, pathophysiology, medical, antisecretory, anti-inflammatory, antiemetic drugs, analgesics, promotion of emptying, prevention of infection, anticholinergics, somatostatin analogs, gastric antisecretory drugs, prokinetic agents, glucocorticoid, opioid analgesics, antibiotics, enema, and adverse effects.

STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION

Randomized or observational studies, cohorts, case reports, or reviews written in English between 1983 and November 2020 were evaluated.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) commonly occurs in patients with advanced or recurrent malignancies and severely affects the quality of life and survival of patients. Its management remains complex and variable. Medical management is the cornerstone of MBO treatment, with the goal of reducing distressing symptoms and optimizing quality of life. Until now, there has been neither a standard clinical approach nor registered medications to treat patients with inoperable MBO.

RELEVANCE TO PATIENT CARE AND CLINICAL PRACTICE

This review provides information on the etiology, type and pathophysiology, and medical treatment of MBO and related adverse reactions of the drugs commonly used, which can greatly assist clinicians in making clinical decisions when treating MBO.

CONCLUSIONS

Published research shows that medical management of MBO mainly consists of antisecretory, anti-inflammatory strategies, controlling vomiting and pain, promoting emptying, preventing infection, and combination therapy. Being knowledgeable about the most current treatment options, the related adverse effects, and the evidence supporting different practices is critical for clinicians to provide individualized medical therapy for MBO patients.

Quality assessment of the guidelines for the management of malignant pleural effusions and ascites

Objectives

To fully assess the quality of the guidelines for the management of malignant pleural effusions (MPE) and ascites and reveal the heterogeneity of recommendations and possible reasons among guidelines.

Methods

A systematic search was performed in the database to obtain guidelines for the management of MPE and ascites. The AGREE IIGtool was used to assess the quality of these guidelines. The Measurement Scale of Rate of Agreement (MSRA) was introduced to assess the scientific agreement of formulated recommendations for the management of MPE and ascites among guidelines, and evidence supporting these recommendations was extracted and analyzed.

Results

Nine guidelines were identified. Only 4 guidelines scored more than 60% and are worth recommending. Recommendations were also heterogeneous among guidelines for the management of MPE, and the main reasons were the different emphases of the recommendations for the treatment of MPE, the contradictions in recommendations, and the unreasonably cited evidence for MPE.

Conclusions

The quality of the management guidelines for patients with MPE and malignant ascites was highly variable. Specific improvement of the factors leading to the heterogeneity of recommendations will be a reasonable and effective way for developers to upgrade the recommendations in the guidelines for MPE.

Prevalence of Extrapyramidal Symptoms in Cancer Patients Referred to Palliative Care: A Multicenter Observational Study (JORTC PAL12)

BACKGROUND

Neuroleptics are commonly used in palliative care settings. However, adverse events of neuroleptics, known as extrapyramidal symptoms (EPSs), might be overlooked in clinical practice. We conducted this study to explore the prevalence of EPSs in palliative care setting.

METHODS

This multicenter, prospective, observational study included patients who 1) were referred to either a specialist palliative care team or a palliative care unit, 2) had a diagnosis of cancer, and 3) were ≥20 years of age. We investigated the prevalence of EPSs and medications used. The primary outcome was the overall Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptom Scale (DIEPSS) score.

RESULTS

Between November 2015 and October 2016, 149 patients from 5 centers in Japan were enrolled. The median age was 67 years (range: 21-88 years) and the study population included 81 men (54.4%). The cancer types included lung (55 patients, 36.9%), upper gastrointestinal tract (5, 3.3%), hepatobiliary (19, 12.8%); breast (12, 8.1%); head and neck (10, 6.7%), gynecologic (10, 6.7%), genitourinary (10, 6.7%), and others (28, 18.8%). The median Karnofsky performance status was 60 (20-100). Most patients (86.6%) did not experience delirium. Thirty-nine (26.2%) patients received one or more EPS-inducing medications. EPSs occurred in 4 (2.7%) patients with a cutoff score of 5 points for 5 parkinsonism items in DIEPSS.

CONCLUSION

A lower frequency (<3%) of patients than expected in this population had EPSs. Therefore, we concluded that an interventional study is not feasible. However, medications that cause EPSs are often used in palliative care; therefore, a longitudinal study is warranted.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) (UMIN000019810) on 16, November, 2015.