Journal•ISSN: 0941-4355
Supportive Care in Cancer
Springer Science+Business Media
About: Supportive Care in Cancer is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Medicine & Palliative care. It has an ISSN identifier of 0941-4355. Over the lifetime, 8875 publications have been published receiving 222444 citations. The journal is also known as: Supportive care in cancer (Print).
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: It was found that the majority of cancer patients used CAM treatments, and spiritual healing/prayer was the most commonly reported, followed by multivitamins.
Abstract: Purpose
The aims of this study were to evaluate the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among radiation oncology patients, the coping strategies that influenced this use, and the rates of disclosure of CAM use to their healthcare providers.
878 citations
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TL;DR: Diversity of methods used in studies hinders analysis of patterns and predictors of unmet need among people with cancer and precludes generalisation, so well-designed, context-specific, prospective studies are needed to benefit future interventional research.
Abstract: Goals of work
The identification and management of unmet supportive care needs is an essential component of health care for people with cancer. Information about the prevalence of unmet need can inform service planning/redesign.
775 citations
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TL;DR: The ten most prevalent symptoms were pain, easy fatigue, weakness, anorexia, lack of energy, dry mouth, constipation, early satiety, dyspnea, and greater than 10% weight loss.
Abstract: A multivariate analysis of the data was conducted to evaluate the effects of age, gender, and performance status on symptom profile. A comprehensive prospective analysis of symptoms was conducted in 1,000 patients on initial referral to the Palliative Medicine Program of the Cleveland Clinic. The median number of symptoms per patient was 11 (range 1-27). The ten most prevalent symptoms were pain, easy fatigue, weakness, anorexia, lack of energy, dry mouth, constipation, early satiety, dyspnea, and greater than 10% weight loss. The prevalence of these 10 symptoms ranged from 50% to 84%. Younger age was associated with 11 symptoms: blackout, vomiting, pain, nausea, headache, sedation, bloating, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, and constipation. Gender was associated with 8 symptoms. Males had more dysphagia, hoarseness, >10% weight loss and sleep problems; females, more early satiety, nausea, vomiting, and anxiety. Performance status was associated with 14 symptoms. Advanced cancer patients are polysymptomatic. Ten symptoms are highly prevalent. Symptom prevalence for 24 individual symptoms differs with age, or gender, or performance status.
593 citations
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TL;DR: Whether patients live longer than 3 or 6 weeks can be acceptably predicted by PPI is investigated, and the predictive values of this scoring system were examined.
Abstract: Although accurate prediction of survival is essential for palliative care, few clinical methods of determining how long a patient is likely to live have been established. To develop a validated scoring system for survival prediction, a retrospective cohort study was performed with a training-testing procedure on two independent series of terminally ill cancer patients. Performance status (PS) and clinical symptoms were assessed prospectively. In the training set (355 assessments on 150 patients) the Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) was defined by PS, oral intake, edema, dyspnea at rest, and delirium. In the testing sample (233 assessments on 95 patients) the predictive values of this scoring system were examined. In the testing set, patients were classified into three groups: group A (PPI 4.0). Group B survived significantly longer than group C, and group A survived significantly longer than either of the others. Also, when a PPI of more than 6 was adopted as a cut-off point, 3 weeks' survival was predicted with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 85%. When a PPI of more than 4 was used as a cutoff point, 6 weeks' survival was predicted with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 77%. In conclusion, whether patients live longer than 3 or 6 weeks can be acceptably predicted by PPI.
543 citations
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TL;DR: The results suggest that the total score is a valid measure of emotional distress, so that the Italian version of HADS can be used as a screening questionnaire for psychiatric disorders.
Abstract: The psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and its utility as a screening instrument for anxiety and depression in a non-psychiatric setting were evaluated. The questionnaire was administered twice to 197 breast cancer patients randomised in a phase III adjuvant clinical trial: before the start of chemotherapy and at the first follow-up visit. The presence of psychiatric disorders was evaluated at the follow-up visit using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R in 132 patients. Factor analyses identified two strictly correlated factors. Crohnbach's alpha for the anxiety and depression scales ranged between 0.80 and 0.85. At follow-up, 50 patients (38%) were assigned a current DSM-III-R diagnosis, in most cases adjustment disorders (24%) or major depressive disorder (10%). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to test the discriminant validity for both anxiety and depressive disorders. The comparison of the areas under the curve (AUC) between the two scales did not show any difference in identifying either anxiety (P=0.855) or depressive disorders (P=0.357). The 14-item total scale showed a high internal consistency (alpha=0.89 and 0.88) and a high discriminating power for all the psychiatric disorders (AUC=0.89; 95% CI=0.83–0.94). The cut-off point that maximised sensitivity (84%) and specificity (79%) was 10. These results suggest that the total score is a valid measure of emotional distress, so that the Italian version of HADS can be used as a screening questionnaire for psychiatric disorders. The use of the two subscales as a 'case identifier' or as an outcome measure should be considered with caution.
454 citations