Therapeutic Massage During Chemotherapy and/or Biotherapy Infusions: Patient Perceptions of Pain, Fatigue, Nausea, Anxiety, and Satisfaction

Chairside Yoga Therapy Alleviates Symptoms in Patients Concurrently Receiving Outpatient Cancer Infusions: A Promising Feasibility Study

Purpose: To evaluate effectiveness of chairside yoga therapy on perceptions of fatigue, pain, nausea, anxiety, and distress among oncology patients concurrently receiving outpatient cancer infusion therapy. Design: This prospective pilot study used pre-/post-survey design in convenience sample of cancer patients in outpatient setting. Methods: Researchers developed and administered the Outpatient Cancer Symptom Assessment Scale (OCSAS) comprised of cancer- or treatment-related symptoms commonly reported in the oncology population (nausea, pain, fatigue, anxiety, and distress). Following IRB approval, symptoms were rated using Likert scale of 0 (not present) to 10 (severe) before and after chairside yoga therapy delivered concurrently with outpatient infusions. Qualitative data was collected related to patients' overall infusion experience. Findings: Participants (n = 82) reported positive patient experiences and statistically less pain (p < 0.001), fatigue (p < 0.001), anxiety (p < 0.001), and distress (p < 0.001) following the yoga intervention compared to baseline. Nausea was not significantly impacted by the yoga intervention. Conclusions: Yoga therapy received concurrently during outpatient cancer infusion is consistent with a holistic and integrative approach to care for the oncology population. Yoga therapy offers promise for reducing symptoms which negatively impact quality of life, including pain, fatigue, anxiety, and distress. Qualitative data suggests patients' overall infusion experience was enhanced with yoga therapy.

Foot Reflexology: An Intervention for Pain and Nausea Among Inpatients With Cancer

BACKGROUND

Pain and nausea affect a significant number of patients with cancer. Applying foot reflexology to this population has had some positive effects, but more studies are needed to confirm its efficacy.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of foot reflexology on pain and nausea among inpatients with cancer as compared to traditional nursing care alone.

METHODS

A pilot study was conducted with adult patients with cancer hospitalized on a 24-bed inpatient oncology unit. Using convenience sampling, 40 patients provided consent and were randomized into either the intervention or control group. Each group had a treatment session of 20-25 minutes in which pre- and postsession surveys were completed, with reflexology performed in the intervention group only.

FINDINGS

Results show that foot reflexology significantly decreases pain for inpatients with cancer as compared to traditional nursing care alone. Although the effects on nausea are not statistically significant, they may be clinically relevant; the mean changes in pre- and postsession nausea ratings indicate at least some decreased nausea among patients in the intervention group.

The effect of massage therapy on fatigue after chemotherapy in gastrointestinal cancer patients

INTRODUCTION

Gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy usually suffer from fatigue, which may affect different aspects of their lives.

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of massage therapy on fatigue after chemotherapy in gastrointestinal cancer patients.

METHOD

In this quasi-experimental study, 88 gastrointestinal cancer patients were randomly allocated into two groups of intervention and control. Patients received the chemotherapy for 3 h. The intervention group received four sessions of foot massage with an interval of 40 min during the chemotherapy. The massage duration was 7 min for each foot. Fatigue was measured using the visual analogue scale to evaluate fatigue severity just after and 24 h after the chemotherapy. Friedman and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The mean age of patients was 59/18 ± 9/35, and the most common type of cancer was gastric cancer (40%). There was a significant difference in the mean score of fatigue between the two groups immediately after (P > 0.001) and 24 h after chemotherapy (P < 0.001). In the intervention group, fatigue score decreased gradually (P = 0.031), while it increased in the control group (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that foot massage, as a simple method, could reduce chemotherapy-induced fatigue.

The effect of massage on the quality of life in patients recovering from COVID-19: A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND

There is a worldwide outbreak of covid-19, and as the number of patients increases, more and more patients are recovering. Massage is used as an alternative therapy. Currently, there are no relevant articles for systematic review.

METHODS

We will search the randomized controlled trials related to acupuncture therapy and postoperative anorectal diseases from inception to January 2020. The following database is our focus area: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wan-Fang Database. All published randomized controlled trials in English or Chinese related to massage for COVID-19 will be included. Primary outcome asthe influence of massage on the quality of life of convalescent patients. Secondary outcomes were accompanying symptoms (such as myalgia, expectoration, stuffiness, runny nose, pharyngalgia, anhelation, chest distress, dyspnea, crackles, headache, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea) disappear rate, negative COVID-19 results rate on 2 consecutive occasions (not on the same day), average hospitalization time, clinical curative effect, and improved quality of life.

RESULTS

The results will provide a high-quality synthesis of current evidence for researchers in this subject area.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of our study will provide evidence to judge whether massage is an effective intervention on the quality of life in patients recovering.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020181398.

The validation of a newly developed Arabic scale to assess patient-reported side-effects of antineoplastic agents

Background

Multiple scales in different languages were developed to measure patient-reported side effects of antineoplastics. However, these scales vary in their coverage of antineoplastics’ side effects, and none of them address both the severity and impact of antineoplastics’ side effects on patient quality of life. Hence, there is a need to develop a comprehensive, concise, and general scale to assess patients’ perceptions of both severity and impact of the commonly reported side effects of antineoplastics on patients’ activities of daily living and make it available in Arabic.

Objectives

To develop and validate a new scale in Arabic to assess patient-reported antineoplastics’ side-effects among Arabic-speaking patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods

A new scale was developed in Arabic that addresses 40 different emotional, cognitive, and physical side-effects of antineoplastics. The Antineoplastic Side effects Scale (ASES) contained three subscales focused on the side effects frequency, severity, and interference with patients’ activities of daily living. Seventy-eight patients with different cancer types were recruited from the oncology clinics of a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The reliability of the questionnaire was examined using Cronbach’s alpha method. The construct validity was examined using principal component analysis with varimax rotation. The association between the scores of ASES subscales and various patient medical and sociodemographic characteristics were also examined.

Results

The mean age of participants was 53.8 (12.5) years and most of them were female (65.3%) and married (84.6%). The ASES demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91). The severity of the perceived side effects and their impact on activities of daily living were positively associated with female gender.

Conclusion

The newly developed ASES demonstrated good validity and reliability. This tool will hopefully help healthcare providers and patients to identify commonly reported antineoplastic side effects.

Massage for Symptom Management in Adult Inpatients With Hematologic Malignancies

Background

Patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant often suffer from a predictable constellation of side effects related to therapy. Nonpharmacologic treatments for these side effects are attractive adjuncts to therapy due to a low side-effect profile.

Objective

To develop, implement, and evaluate a pilot program of massage therapy for symptom management in adult patients with hematologic malignancies admitted to the bone marrow transplant (BMT) service at a large academic medical center.

Methods

A single-arm feasibility study of massage therapy was conducted. Pre- and postintervention surveys were collected to assess the usefulness in management of 7 symptoms.

Results

Over an 11.5-month period, 109 patients received 142 massage treatments. one in five patients received more than one massage. We received surveys on 134 massage treatments. Patients reported significant reductions in anxiety, distress, fatigue, pain, and tension (P < .01) and improved sleep as a result of massage therapy.

Conclusion

Based on this pilot, massage therapy is a feasible and safe intervention to administer during BMT hospitalizations. It proved useful in managing a constellation of 5 side effects including, anxiety, distress, fatigue, pain, and tension.

Local and systemic delivery of mRNA encoding survivin-T34A by lipoplex for efficient colon cancer gene therapy

Background: In vitro transcribed (IVT) mRNA has been applied as an alternative therapeutic molecule to plasmid DNA in the field of cancer therapy and biomedical research studies. mRNA-based therapy has demonstrated several advantages over its DNA counterparts. However, its further therapeutic application is largely restricted by delivery method.

Methods: In this work, a liposome-protamine lipoplex (CLPP) was prepared to deliver IVT mRNA encoding survivin-T34A gene, forming a novel core-shell structured nanoparticle formulation (CLPP/mSur-T34A).

Results: The prepared CLPP/mSur-T34A particle had an average size of 186.1±3.1 nm, displaying high mRNA transfecting and expression efficiency on C26 tumor cells through lipid rafts-mediated endocytosis. CLPP/mSur-T34A mRNA formulation demonstrated obvious therapeutic effects on various models of C26 colon cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Particularly, local and systemic administration of CLPP/mSur-T34A particle exhibited superior antitumor effect regarding its DNA plasmid counterpart with high safety.

Conclusion: Our results indicated the high delivery capacity of liposome-protamine lipoplex and further suggested CLPP/mSur-T34A mRNA formulation to be a potential candidate for colon cancer therapy.