A Prospective Evaluation of the Reliability and Utility of Quality of Life Measures in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Development of a Patient-Reported Symptom Item Bank for Patients with Hepatobiliary or Pancreatic Malignancies: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Patients with hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancers often experience severe symptoms, resulting in a sharp decline in functioning, poor quality of life, and increased mortality risk. Early and effective management of symptoms allows a better quality of life and reduced mortality, depending on the selection of appropriate assessment of specific symptoms for a defined purpose. We aimed to develop a symptom measurement item bank for hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancers.

METHODS

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was applied to organize this systematic review. The articles validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancer and published before December 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, Embase databases and Cochrane Library. Items from the existing PROMs were selected and classified into different patient-reported symptoms based on the concepts and specific underlying constructs of the objects measured.

RESULTS

Sixteen unique PROMs were identified across the 29 eligible studies included in our analysis. Items from the literature review (14 PROMs with 421 items for which information was obtained) were selected and classified. As a result of this study, we developed a symptom item bank with 40 patient-reported symptoms and 229 assessment items for hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancer, and fatigue, pain and nausea were the most common symptom items.

CONCLUSION

We developed an item bank to assess the patient-reported symptoms of hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancer. This item bank could allow researchers to select appropriate measures of symptom and provide a basis for the development of a single-item symptom-measurement system.

Patient-reported outcomes in HCC: A scoping review by the Practice Metrics Committee of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

HCC is a leading cause of mortality in patients with advanced liver disease and is associated with significant morbidity. Despite multiple available curative and palliative treatments, there is a lack of systematic evaluation of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in HCC.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Practice Metrics Committee conducted a scoping review of PROs in HCC from 1990 to 2021 to (1) synthesize the evidence on PROs in HCC and (2) provide recommendations on incorporating PROs into clinical practice and quality improvement efforts. A total of 63 studies met inclusion criteria investigating factors associated with PROs, the relationship between PROs and survival, and associations between HCC therapy and PROs. Studies recruited heterogeneous populations, and most were cross-sectional. Poor PROs were associated with worse prognosis after adjusting for clinical factors and with more advanced disease stage, although some studies showed better PROs in patients with HCC compared to those with cirrhosis. Locoregional and systemic therapies were generally associated with a high symptom burden; however, some studies showed lower symptom burden for transarterial radiotherapy and radiation therapy. Qualitative studies identified additional symptoms not routinely assessed with structured questionnaires. Gaps in the literature include lack of integration of PROs into clinical care to guide HCC treatment decisions, unknown impact of HCC on caregivers, and the effect of palliative or supportive care quality of life and health outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Evidence supports assessment of PROs in HCC; however, clinical implementation and the impact of PRO measurement on quality of care and longitudinal outcomes need future investigation.

A closer look at quality of life in the hepatocellular carcinoma literature

PURPOSE

Adults with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have a high symptom burden. Their quality of life (QOL) has been shown to be significantly impacted by both the disease and its treatment, adding to the high symptom burden that these patients experience. The primary aims of this paper are as follows: (1) to identify how QOL is being defined in HCC literature and (2) to identify how QOL is being measured in the HCC literature using Ferrell's model of QOL.

METHODS

A systematic review was completed of relevant studies published after 2014, using PubMed, CINHAL, and PsycInfo. Relevant studies were reviewed by 2 reviewers using PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS

From a total of 1312 papers obtained in the initial database search, 30 met inclusion criteria and are included in this review. From the included articles, 10% included a definition of QOL and 3% addressed the spiritual domain of QOL. Majority of study participants were in the early stage of HCC, though the majority of adults with HCC are diagnosed in the advanced stage. Only 3% of included studies included greater than 22% population of advanced stage of HCC.

CONCLUSION

The results of this systematic review demonstrate the need for future research into QOL in the advanced stage of QOL. It also identified gap in the literature concerning the definition of QOL in HCC and the spiritual domain of QOL in HCC.

Image-Guided Proton Therapy for Elderly Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: High Local Control and Quality of Life Preservation

This study retrospectively investigated the efficacy and safety of image-guided proton therapy (IGPT) for elderly (≥80 years old) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Proton therapy was performed using respiratory-gated and image-guided techniques. Seventy-one elderly HCC patients were treated using IGPT. The Child-Pugh score was A5 in 49 patients, A6 in 15, and B7-9 in 7. Forty-seven patients with a peripherally located tumor were administered 66 gray relative biological effectiveness (GyRBE) in 10 fractions, whereas 24 with a centrally located tumor received 72.6 GyRBE in 22 fractions. The median follow-up period of surviving patients was 33 months (range: 9-68). Two-year overall survival (OS) and local control (LC) rates estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method were 76% (95% confidence interval: 66-87%) and 88% (80-97%), respectively. According to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0, no grade 2 or higher radiation-induced liver disease was observed, and only 1 patient developed grade 3 dermatitis. The quality of life score (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 version 3.0, QLQ-HCC18, and SF-36) did not change after 1 year, except for the three-mental component summary (SF-36, improvement). IGPT is a safe and effective treatment for HCC in elderly patients.

Efficacy and Safety of SBRT Combined With Camrelizumab and Apatinib in HCC Patients With PVTT: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) has poor prognosis. Sorafenib/lenvatinib is recommended as the first-line therapy in these patients currently, with unsatisfactory response and survival benefit reported. Radiotherapy (RT) is increasingly utilized in advanced HCC and is considered an alternative option for HCC patients with PVTT. Combined treatment of RT and locoregional treatments such as transarterial chemoembolization shows promising results. However, the efficacy and safety for combined treatment of RT and systemic therapy have not been reported and thus warrant further studies. This prospective clinic trial aims at evaluating the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body RT (SBRT) combined with camrelizumab and apatinib in HCC patients with PVTT.

Methods

This multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial will enroll 264 HCC patients with PVTT who have not received systemic therapy previously. Stratification of patients will be based on the presence or absence of extrahepatic metastasis and level of AFP (AFP ≥ 400 or <400 ng/mL) and randomly assigned 1:1 to study and control groups. Patients in study group will receive SBRT (95% PTV 36–40 Gy/6–8 Gy), camrelizumab (200 mg every 3 weeks), and apatinib (250 mg every day), and patients in control group will receive camrelizumab (200 mg every 2 weeks) and apatinib (250 mg every day). Patients will be followed up for 1.5 to 3.5 years since the start of therapy. We will use overall survival as the primary endpoint and progression-free survival, objective response rate, disease control rate, adverse events, and quality of life as the secondary endpoints.

Discussion

This study will be the first randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of SBRT combined with camrelizumab and apatinib for HCC patients with PVTT. The results may help establish a new standard first-line therapy for these patients.

Trial Registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registration No. ChiCTR1900027102.

Date of Registration

October 31, 2019.