The symptom cluster of sleep, fatigue and depressive symptoms in breast cancer patients: severity of the problem and treatment options

Abstract The widespread influence of social media impacts every aspect of life, including the healthcare sector. Although medics and health professionals are the final decision makers, the advice and recommendations obtained from fellow patients are significant. In this context, the present paper explores the topics of discussion posted by breast cancer patients and survivors on online forums. The study examines an online forum, Breastcancer.org, maps the discussion entries to several topics, and proposes a machine learning model based on a classification algorithm to characterize the topics. To explore the topics of breast cancer patients and survivors, approximately 1000 posts are selected and manually labeled with annotations. In contrast, millions of posts are available to build the labels. A semi-supervised learning technique is used to build the labels for the unlabeled data; hence, the large data are classified using a deep learning algorithm. The deep learning algorithm BiLSTM with BERT word embedding technique provided a better f1-score of 79.5%. This method is able to classify the following topics: medication reviews, clinician knowledge, various treatment options, seeking and providing support, diagnostic procedures, financial issues and implications for everyday life. What matters the most for the patients is coping with everyday living as well as seeking and providing emotional and informational support. The approach and findings show the potential of studying social media to provide insight into patients' experiences with cancer like critical health problems.

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Depressive symptoms during adverse economic and political circumstances: A comparative study on Greek female breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment

European Journal of Cancer Care ◽

10.1111/ecc.12687 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. e12687 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Pelekasis ◽

K. Kampoli ◽

A. Ntavatzikos ◽

A. Charoni ◽

C. Tsionou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Female Breast Cancer ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Chemotherapy Treatment ◽

Female Breast

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Communication Between Physicians and Older Women With Localized Breast Cancer: Implications for Treatment and Patient Satisfaction

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2002.20.4.1008 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 1008-1016 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Wenchi Liang ◽

Caroline B. Burnett ◽

Julia H. Rowland ◽

Neal J. Meropol ◽

Lynne Eggert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Cancer Care ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Treatment Choice ◽

Satisfaction With Care ◽

Physician Communication ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Actual Treatment ◽

The Impact

PURPOSE: To identify factors associated with patient-physician communication and to examine the impact of communication on patients’ perception of having a treatment choice, actual treatment received, and satisfaction with care among older breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected from 613 pairs of surgeons and their older (≥ 67 years) patients diagnosed with localized breast cancer. Measures of patients’ self-reported communication included physician- and patient-initiated communication and the number of treatment options discussed. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between communication and outcomes. RESULTS: Patients who reported that their surgeons mentioned more treatment options were 2.21 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62 to 3.01) more likely to report being given a treatment choice, and 1.33 times (95% CI, 1.02 to 1.73) more likely to get breast-conserving surgery with radiation than other types of treatment. Surgeons who were trained in surgical oncology, or who treated a high volume of breast cancer patients (≥ 75% of practice), were more likely to initiate communication with patients (odds ratio [OR] = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.56; and OR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.76, respectively). A high degree of physician-initiated communication, in turn, was associated with patients’ perception of having a treatment choice (OR = 2.46; 95% CI, 1.29 to 4.70), and satisfaction with breast cancer care (OR = 2.13; 95% CI, 1.17 to 3.85) in the 3 to 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSION: Greater patient-physician communication was associated with a sense of choice, actual treatment, and satisfaction with care. Technical information and caring components of communication impacted outcomes differently. Thus, the quality of cancer care for older breast cancer patients may be improved through interventions that improve communication within the physician-patient dyad.

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Systemic Treatment Options for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases beyond Trastuzumab: A Literature Review

Breast Care ◽

10.1159/000467387 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 168-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Elena Laakmann ◽

Volkmar Müller ◽

Marcus Schmidt ◽

Isabell Witzel

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Brain Metastases ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Systemic Treatment ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Cytotoxic Agents ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Her2 Positive ◽

Her2 Positive Breast Cancer ◽

Positive Breast Cancer

Background: The incidence of brain metastases (BM) in breast cancer patients has increased. Many retrospective analyses have shown that first-line treatment with trastuzumab prolongs survival in patients with HER2-positive BM. In contrast, the evidence for other therapies targeting HER2 for patients with BM is rare. Methods: The aim of this review is to update the reader about current systemic treatment options in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer with BM who had already received trastuzumab. A literature search was performed in the PubMed database in June 2016. 30 relevant reports concerning the efficacy of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), lapatinib and its combination with other cytotoxic agents, pertuzumab and novel HER2-targeting substances were identified. Results: There is limited but promising evidence for the use of T-DM1 and pertuzumab in the treatment of BM. Up to now, most reported studies used lapatinib as treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer with BM, a treatment with only a modest effect and a high toxicity profile. The combination of lapatinib with cytotoxic agents seems to result in better response rates. Conclusion: Further prospective investigations are needed to investigate the efficacy of the established and novel HER2-targeting agents on BM in HER2-positive breast cancer patients.

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