Gender Differences in Predictors of Quality of Life at the Initiation of Radiation Therapy

Gender oncology: recommendations and consensus of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM)

BACKGROUND

Following the development of gender medicine in the past 20 years, more recently in the field of oncology an increasing amount of evidence suggests gender differences in the epidemiology of cancers, as well as in the response and toxicity associated with therapies. In a gender approach, critical issues related to sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations must also be considered.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A working group of opinion leaders approved by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) has been set up with the aim of drafting a shared document on gender oncology. Through the 'consensus conference' method of the RAND/University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) variant, the members of the group evaluated statements partly from the scientific literature and partly produced by the experts themselves [good practice points (GPPs)], on the following topics: (i) Healthcare organisation, (ii) Therapy, (iii) Host factors, (iv) Cancer biology, and (v) Communication and social interventions. Finally, in support of each specific topic, they considered it appropriate to present some successful case studies.

RESULTS

A total of 42 articles met the inclusion criteria, from which 50 recommendations were extracted. Panel participants were given the opportunity to propose additional evidence from studies not included in the research results, from which 32 statements were extracted, and to make recommendations not derived from literature such as GPPs, four of which have been developed. After an evaluation of relevance by the panel, it was found that 81 recommendations scored >7, while 3 scored between 4 and 6.9, and 2 scored below 4.

CONCLUSIONS

This consensus and the document compiled thereafter represent an attempt to evaluate the available scientific evidence on the theme of gender oncology and to suggest standard criteria both for scientific research and for the care of patients in clinical practice that should take gender into account.

[Quality of life in people with depression and physical comorbidity from a gender perspective]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to describe from a gender perspective how people with depression and physical comorbidity perceive their quality of life. The study included 380 people over 49 years of age with at least one of the following pathologies: diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease. Participants were recruited from 31 teams the primary care of in Catalonia. Quality of life was measured using the EuroQol Scale. In addition, sociodemographic variables were collected, as well as the severity of depression, the index of economic deprivation and area of residence. The adjusted relationship between sex and dimensions of quality of life was assessed by means of multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

81.3% were women; the mean age was 68.4 years (SD: 8.8). The mean on the Visual Analogue Scale was 57.8 (SD: 17.4) in men and 55.8 (SD: 18.6) in women. The mean of the EQ-Health Index was 0.74 (SD: 0.17) in men and 0.65 (SD: 0.2) in women (p = 0.001). The probability of having problems of the EQ-5D showed sex as the most important factor (woman = 1/man = 0) in: self-care OR: 2.29 (95% CI 1.04-5.07) and daily activities OR: 3.09 (95% CI 1.67-5.71). Mobility was associated with age OR: 1.87 (95% CI 1.22-2.86), pain with area of residence OR: 2.51 (95% CI 1.18-5,34) and the BDI with anxiety/depression OR: 4,77 (95% CI 1.77-12,88).

CONCLUSION

The perception quality of life of women with depression and physical comorbidity is lower than that of men and, in both cases, it is lower than that of the general population.

Quality of life among newly admitted patients to cancer hospital in Vietnam and associated factors

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 262 newly admitted patients of a cancer hospital in Vietnam. The Vietnamese version EORTC-30 questionnaire 3.0 was used to interviews patients during the first week after their admission. Lower global quality of life and physical functioning scores were significantly associated with older age, lung and gastrointestinal cancers. Emotional functioning score was lower among female patients as compared to males. Financial difficulty was an important preditor for almost all functional scales. Management of early symptoms, providing early emotional supports and appropriate policies to reduce financial difficulty are important to improve cancer patients' quality of life.

Quality of Life of Patients with Advanced Cancer in Palliative Therapy and in Palliative Care

Objective: To assess the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer in palliative therapy and in palliative care. Materials and Methods: Quantitative, observational, cross-sectional, and analytic study conducted in a teaching hospital in Paraná, Brazil, from January to June 2018, with 126 patients: 107 in palliative therapy; 19 in exclusive palliative care. The questionnaires for data collection were: Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 15-Palliative, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care 14, and Edmonton Symptom Assessment System. The Spearman non-parametric coefficient test was used for the analysis. Results: The overall quality of life in palliative therapy and in palliative care was, respectively, 71.54/59.65; when correlating the total score of quality of life of the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 15-Palliative with the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care 14 (p = 0.001), and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (p = 0.001), significant difference of better quality of life was observed in the palliative therapy. Conclusion: Patients in palliative therapy have good overall quality of life, while the palliative care group reports regular quality of life. The symptoms were milder in the palliative therapy and more intense and with greater significance in palliative care; hence, knowing the compromise of quality of life will help professionals in planning interventions with transdisciplinary approach for patients and for their families.