ESAS and FACT-B in eribulin-treated metastatic breast cancer patients: a multicenter, prospective and observational study

Psychosocial Aspects of Living Long Term with Advanced Cancer and Ongoing Systemic Treatment: A Scoping Review

(1) Background: Studies examining the psychosocial impact of living long term on systemic treatment in advanced cancer patients are scarce. This scoping review aimed to answer the research question “What has been reported about psychosocial factors among patients living with advanced cancer receiving life-long systemic treatment?”, by synthesizing psychosocial data, and evaluating the terminology used to address these patients; (2) Methods: This scoping review was conducted following the five stages of the framework of Arksey and O’Malley (2005); (3) Results: 141 articles published between 2000 and 2021 (69% after 2015) were included. A large variety of terms referring to the patient group was observed. Synthesizing qualitative studies identified ongoing uncertainty, anxiety and fear of disease progression or death, hope in treatment results and new treatment options, loss in several aspects of life, and worries about the impact of disease on loved ones and changes in social life to be prominent psychosocial themes. Of 82 quantitative studies included in the review, 76% examined quality of life, 46% fear of disease progression or death, 26% distress or depression, and 4% hope, while few studies reported on adaptation or cognitive aspects. No quantitative studies focused on uncertainty, loss, or social impact; (4) Conclusion and clinical implications: Prominent psychosocial themes reported in qualitative studies were not included in quantitative research using specific validated questionnaires. More robust studies using quantitative research designs should be conducted to further understand these psychological constructs. Furthermore, the diversity of terminology found in the literature calls for a uniform definition to better address this specific patient group in research and in practice.

Incidence and clinical parameters associated with eribulin mesylate-induced peripheral neuropathy

Eribulin mesylate is a microtubule-targeting agent that has been approved for the treatment of breast cancer and liposarcoma. Due to its novel mechanism of action, eribulin therapy induces a distinct profile of adverse events, including peripheral neuropathy. However, the incidence and risk of eribulin-related neurotoxicities are unclear. Here, we conducted a systematic search of PubMed and Embase from their inception to October 2017. Eligible studies included trials in which eribulin was intravenously administered at a standard dose of 1.4 mg/m² over 2-5 minutes on days 1 and 8 on a 21-day cycle. The events of all-grade and high-grade peripheral neuropathy were collected to calculate the overall incidence and relative risk (RR). A total of thirty-two studies containing 6129 subjects were included in this analysis. The incidences of all-grade and high-grade eribulin monotherapy-related peripheral neuropathy were 28% (95% confidence interval [CI], 24%-32%) and 4% (95% CI, 3%-5%), respectively. Subgroup analysis further revealed that a higher incidence of neurotoxicities was observed in patients with breast cancer and those with longer treatment duration. Moreover, eribulin-treated subjects had a significantly increased risk of all-grade (RR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.70-2.35; p = 0.008) and high-grade (RR, 3.68; 95% CI, 2.30-5.89; p<0.001) neurotoxicities. Our results suggested that patients treated with eribulin had an increased risk of developing peripheral neuropathy.

Prevalence of physical problems detected by the distress thermometer and problem list in patients with breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Patients with breast cancer have high rates of physical symptoms that negatively impact their quality of life. The relationship between women's perceptions of these physical symptoms and patient demographic and breast cancer characteristics is less well known. This study describes physical symptoms of patients with breast cancer and their relationship with patient characteristics.

METHODS

Patients (n = 125) with breast cancer (stage 0-IV) completed questionnaires in a dedicated academic medical center breast cancer clinic. Patients reported demographics (age, race/ethnicity, marital status, and employment status) and disease characteristics (surgery type, receipt of chemotherapy, or antihormonal therapy). Patients reported whether they were bothered by any of the 22 physical problem list (PPL) variables from the distress thermometer and problem list.

RESULTS

The median number of physical problems endorsed by patients was 3.0 (M = 3.43, SD = 3.42). Approximately one-fourth endorsed no physical symptoms while three-fourths reported at least 1 problem, and three-fifths endorsed 2 or more problems. Fatigue (40.0%), sleep (34.7%), skin dry/itchy (22.9%), pain (19.5%), and feeling swollen (19.5%) were most commonly reported. Age, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment status, and receipt of chemotherapy were associated with certain physical problems. Problems with breathing, eating, memory/concentration, nausea, and total number of endorsed PPL variables were associated with distress.

CONCLUSION

The breast cancer population demonstrates heavy physical symptom burden with multiple physical problems that are related to overall functioning. Special attention should be given to the physical symptom burden of younger, nonwhite, unmarried, and unemployed patients. Future research should investigate the PPL of the distress thermometer and problem list with other measures of symptom burden.