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Au TH, Willis C, Reblin M, Peters KB, Nghiemphu PL, Taylor JW, Colman H, Cohen AL, Ormond DR, Chakravarti A, Willmarth N, Menon J, Ma J, Bauer H, Watanabe AH, Ulrich CM, Singh P, Marshall A, Korytowsky B, Stenehjem D, Brixner D. Caregiver burden by treatment and clinical characteristics of patients with glioblastoma. Support Care Cancer 2021; 30:1365-1375. [PMID: 34510238 PMCID: PMC8727395 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-021-06514-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glioblastoma is an incurable disease with a poor prognosis. For caregivers of people with glioblastoma, the burden of care can be high. Patients often present with different clinical characteristics, which may impact caregiver burden in different ways. This study aimed to evaluate associations between patient clinical characteristics and caregiver burden/quality of life (QoL). METHODS Caregiver-patient dyads were enrolled at 7 academic cancer centers in the United States. Eligible caregiver participants were self-reported as the primary caregiver of an adult living with glioblastoma and completed a caregiver burden survey. Eligible patients were age ≥ 18 years at glioblastoma diagnosis and alive when their respective caregiver entered the study, with the presence of cognitive dysfunction confirmed by the caregiver. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multivariable analyses. RESULTS The final cohort included 167 dyads. Poor patient performance status resulted in patient difficulty with mental tasks, more caregiving tasks, and increased caregiving time. Language problems were reported in patients with left-sided lesions. Patient confusion was negatively associated with all caregiver domains: emotional health, social health, general health, ability to work, confidence in finances, and overall QoL. Better caregiver QoL was observed in patients with frontal lobe lesions versus non-frontal lobe lesions. CONCLUSION This study reinforced that patient performance status is a critical clinical factor that significantly affects caregiver burden, caregiving tasks, and caregiver time. Additionally, patient confusion affects multiple facets of caregiver burden/QoL. These results could be used to support guided intervention for caregiver support, customized to the patient experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trang H Au
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Connor Willis
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Maija Reblin
- Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Katherine B Peters
- The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Jennie W Taylor
- Departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Howard Colman
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Adam L Cohen
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - D Ryan Ormond
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Arnab Chakravarti
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Jyothi Menon
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Junjie Ma
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Hillevi Bauer
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Alexandre H Watanabe
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Cornelia M Ulrich
- Huntsman Cancer Institute and Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | | | | | - David Stenehjem
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN, USA
| | - Diana Brixner
- Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
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