Sexuality, lung cancer, and the older adult: an unlikely trio?

Surveillance of Symptom Burden Using the Patient-Reported Outcome Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events in Patients With Various Types of Cancers During Chemoradiation Therapy: Real-World Study

BACKGROUND

Over 90% of patients with cancer experience 1 or more symptoms caused directly by cancer or its treatment. These symptoms negatively impact on the completion of planned treatment as well as patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It often results in serious complications and even life-threatening outcomes. Thus, it has been recommended that surveillance of symptom burden should be performed and managed during cancer treatment. However, differences in symptom profiles in various patients with cancer have not been fully elucidated for use in performing surveillance in the real world.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the burden of symptoms in patients with various types of cancers during chemotherapy or radiation therapy using the PRO-CTCAE (Patient-Reported Outcome Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) and its impact on quality of life.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional study of patients undergoing outpatient-based chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both at the National Cancer Center at Goyang or at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, Korea between December 2017 and January 2018. To evaluate cancer-specific symptom burden, we developed 10 subsets for using the PRO-CTCAE-Korean. To measure HRQoL, we used the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). Participants answered questions prior to their clinic appointments on tablets. Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze symptoms based on cancer type and to evaluate the association between the PRO-CTCAE items and the EORTC QLQ-C30 summary score.

RESULTS

The mean age (SD) of the patients was 55.0 (11.9) years, and 39.94% (540/1352) were male. Overall, symptoms in the gastrointestinal category were the most dominant in all cancers. Fatigue (1034/1352, 76.48%), decreased appetite (884/1352, 65.38%), and numbness and tingling (778/1352, 57.54%) were the most frequently reported. Patients reported more local symptoms caused by a specific cancer. In terms of nonsite-specific symptoms, patients commonly reported concentration (587/1352, 43.42%), anxiety (647/1352, 47.86%), and general pain (605/1352, 44.75%). More than 50% of patients with colorectal (69/127, 54.3%), gynecologic (63/112, 56.3%), breast (252/411, 61.3%), and lung cancers (121/234, 51.7%) experienced decreased libido, whereas 67/112 (59.8%) patients with gynecologic cancer and lymphoma/myeloma reported pain during sexual intercourse. Patients with breast, gastric, and liver cancers were more likely to have the hand-foot syndrome. Worsening PRO-CTCAE scores were associated with poor HRQoL (eg, fatigue: coefficient -8.15; 95% CI -9.32 to -6.97), difficulty in achieving and maintaining erection (coefficient -8.07; 95% CI -14.52 to -1.61), poor concentration (coefficient -7.54; 95% CI -9.06 to -6.01), and dizziness (coefficient -7.24; 95% CI -8.92 to -5.55).

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency and severity of symptoms differed by cancer types. Higher symptom burden was associated with poor HRQoL, which suggests the importance of appropriate surveillance of PRO symptoms during cancer treatment. Considering patients had comprehensive symptoms, it is necessary to include a holistic approach in the symptom monitoring and management strategies based on comprehensive patient-reported outcome measurements.

Systematic review of rectal foreign bodies in older men: humanistic care and a novel challenge for society

Background

In recent years, rectal foreign bodies have become a common proctological emergency in the male population, especially older Chinese men, often requiring surgical intervention due to associated complications. This review aimed to describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of rectal foreign bodies in older men and examine the possible challenges presented by the condition to clinicians and society.

Methods

A comprehensive search was conducted in English-language databases and Chinese databases from January 2000 to December 2020. Studies concerning rectal foreign bodies were considered for this review if they reported the reason for a foreign body being in the rectum and related treatment measures. Contemporaneous rectal foreign bodies case data from General Surgery Department of Tangdu Hospital were also analyzed. According to differences in ethnicity, the older male patients were divided into a Chinese group and a non-Chinese group, and the parameters of the two groups were analyzed using statistical methods.

Results

A total of 159 studies were retrieved in an initial database search using “rectal foreign body” as the search term. These included 86 Chinese studies and 73 English-language studies. Collectively, these studies included 582 older male patients, 276 of whom were Chinese, and 307 who were non-Chinese. According to their source, the rectal foreign bodies were classified into 3 categories. The most common reason for a foreign body in the rectum was insertion for erotic purposes, with everyday articles accounting for most foreign body types. Sexual articles were mainly found to have been used in the pursuit of pleasure. There were no significant differences in foreign body sources, sizes, types, treatment selections, and outcomes between the two groups.

Discussion

Emergency hospital visits by older men with rectal foreign bodies due to erotic and sexual needs and practices are increasing. Although the sources, sizes, and types of foreign bodies were different, and patients recovered well after active and appropriate clinical treatment, the sexual needs of older men are a social issue that requires attention. Acknowledging and dealing with sexual issues is a multidimensional task that requires a collaborative effort to ensure a more humanistic approach to older patients.