Development of a new multimedia instrument to measure cancer-specific quality of life in Portuguese-speaking patients with varying literacy skills

Impact of AferBio® on quality of life and chemotherapy toxicity in advanced lung cancer patients (AFERBIO study): protocol study for a phase II randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer patients undergoing palliative chemotherapy exhibit many symptoms related to the disease, such as adverse events and infectious complications during treatment, which impacts directly their health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Nutritional status is a relevant aspect among advanced cancer patients under palliative care and food supplementation has the potential to reduce treatment-related adverse effects and improve the nutritional status. The product named AferBio® is a fermented supplement that has been described as able to provide some benefits, including the capacity to potentiate the effects of anticancer drugs, by promoting the reduction of side effects and ultimately improving HRQOL.

METHODS/DESIGN

A Phase II double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial to assess the use of food supplementation with AferBio® in Stage IIIB or IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients beginning a second-line palliative mono-chemotherapy. The primary goal is to compare HRQOL scores between the arms of the study over time. The ten first patients included in the present study will undergo an AferBio®toxicity-testing (non-randomized phase). If no significant toxicity is found, the study will move on to the randomized phase. All patients will be randomized in blocks at a 1:1 ratio using the online tool REDCap. ECOG-PS (0-1 versus 2) criteria will be used for stratification. All patients included in the trial will be evaluated at baseline and at each chemotherapy cycle. Each evaluation will include the following: HRQOL (EORTC QLQ-C30, LC13 and IQualiV-Lung), ECOG-PS, anthropometric measurements, clinical and laboratory toxicity assessment and response evaluation.

DISCUSSION

During palliative systemic therapy in advanced cancer patients, one of the main goals is the improvement and maintenance of HRQOL, which can be negatively affected by cancer symptoms, cancer- or treatment-related psychosocial difficulties, and chemotherapy toxicity. Thus, much research has been dedicated to the development of new and more effective and/or less toxic cancer therapies. The present study is justified by the testing of a novel food supplement that may reduce some toxicities, thus, having a potential positive impact on the HRQOL of lung cancer patients. The product in question (AferBio®) is already available for sale in Brazil, but has not yet been fully tested in cancer patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This Trial was registered on March 19, 2018 with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03469063. Protocol version: 2.0 from March 26, 2018. Trial status: Patient enrollment in the study began in April, 2018.

Using Plain Language and Adding Communication Technology to an Existing Health-Related Questionnaire to Help Generate Accurate Information: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Low-educated patients are disadvantaged in using questionnaires within the health care setting because most health-related questionnaires do not take the educational background of patients into account. The Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire (DTTSQ) was developed in an attempt to meet the needs of low-educated patients by using plain language and adding communication technology to an existing paper-based questionnaire. For physical therapists to use the DTTSQ as part of their intake procedure, it needs to generate accurate information from all of their patients, independent of educational level.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to get a first impression of the information that is generated by the DTTSQ. To achieve this goal, response processes of physical therapy patients with diverse levels of education were analyzed.

METHODS

The qualitative Three-Step Test-Interview method was used to collect observational data on actual response behavior of 24 physical therapy patients with diverse levels of education. The interviews included both think-aloud and retrospective probing techniques.

RESULTS

Of the 24 respondents, 20 encountered one or more problems during their response process. The use of plain language and information and communication technology (ICT) appeared to have a positive effect on the comprehensibility of the DTTSQ. However, it also had some negative effects on the interpretation, retrieval, judgment, and response selection within the response processes of the participants in this study. No educational group in this research population stood out from the rest in the kind or number of problems that arose. All respondents recognized themselves in the outcomes of the questionnaire.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of plain language and ICT within the DTTSQ had both positive and negative effects on the response processes of its target population. The results of this study emphasize the importance of earlier recommendations to accompany any adaption of any questionnaire to a new mode of delivery by demonstrating the difference and equivalence between the two different modes and to scientifically evaluate the applicability of the newly developed mode of the questionnaire in its intended setting. This is especially important in a digital era in which the use of plain language within health care is increasingly being advocated.