scholarly journals Attention to bone health in follow-up of gynaecological cancers in tertiary care

2022 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 174550652110707
Author(s):  
Catherine A O’Gorman ◽  
Sorcha Minnock ◽  
Joseph Mulhall ◽  
Noreen Gleeson

Objective: Women with gynaecological cancers are at an increased risk of cancer treatment–induced bone loss, which impacts on their quality of life and overall survival. Clinical cancer follow-up reviews focus on cancer status and fail to attend to important health and quality-of-life issues. We questioned whether there was a care-gap between tertiary clinicians and primary care physicians in the management of bone health in this cohort. Significant care-gaps in relation to bone health have been demonstrated in other oncologic settings. The objective of this study was to determine the level of attention to bone health in the care of women living with and beyond gynaecological cancer at a tertiary referral centre for gynaecological oncology. Methods: Retrospective, observational cohort study of attention to bone health in the management and follow-up of gynaecological cancers. Results: This study shows that there has been suboptimal attention from the carers at a cancer centre to bone health during the oncological follow up of women undergoing treatment for gynaecological cancer. In those at particular risk of cancer treatment–induced bone loss (iatrogenic menopause and/or external beam pelvic radiotherapy), 52% of women had no reference to bone health in their notes, and 57% had no assessment of bone mineral density. Conclusion: Tertiary cancer carers may underestimate the importance of bone health or believe that it falls outside the remit of their gynaecologic oncology service. Further research is needed to explore whether these findings are indicative of a true care gap and to gain insight into possible corrective measures.

Author(s):  
George Du Toit ◽  
Martin Kidd

Background: Cervical cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) both have a high incidence in South Africa. Cervical cancer treatment of HIV-positive women poses challenges. Treatment-related changes in quality of life (QOL) of such women are important to future treatment protocols.Aim: To examine demographic data of HIV-negative and HIV-positive women at diagnosis of cervical cancer and describe their changes in QOL as a result of treatment.Methods and materials: All newly diagnosed patients with cervical cancer at Tygerberg Hospital were approached to participate in the study. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Cervix Cancer Module (QLQ-CX24) were used. General QOL was measured with the EORTC QLQ-C30 and cervical-specific QOL with the QLQ-CX24 questionnaire. The patients completed the questionnaire at diagnosis, on completion of treatment and at 3 months’ follow-up.Results: The study included a total of 221 women of whom 22% were HIV-positive; the latter were younger and of higher educational level than the rest. Mean monthly income and stage distribution was similar between the two groups. HIV-positive patients underwent radiation therapy more commonly than chemoradiation. HIV-positive women showed statistically significantly higher loss to follow-up during the study. HIV-positive women experienced no improvement in insomnia, appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, social role or any of the sexual domains. In contrast, HIV-negative women experienced statistically significant improvement in all sexual domains other than sexual/vaginal functioning. The QOL improvement of HIV-negative women was statistically significantly greater than their HIV-positive counterparts in the majority of QOL domains. Global health improved in both groups, with HIV-negative women experiencing greater improvement. HIV-positive women experienced an initial decline of peripheral neuropathy (PN) symptoms post treatment with a return to pretreatment values at 3 months’ follow-up. The change in PN was statistically significant between the HIV-negative and HIV-positive women.Conclusion: Demographic differences exist between the HIV-negative and HIV-positive groups. The differential outcome in the QOL of HIV-positive and HIV-negative women treated for cervical cancer might be related to persistence of AIDS-related symptoms on completion of cervical cancer treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuyuki Yamamoto ◽  
Kiyotsugu Shinagawa ◽  
Taku Hatta ◽  
Eiji Itoi

Background: It has been demonstrated biomechanically that 25% is a critical size defect of the glenoid. However, a recent clinical study reported that a bone loss between 13.5% and 20% (subcritical bone loss) led to impairment of quality of life but not a recurrence of instability. Purpose: To clarify whether a subcritical bone loss exists in assessing a Hill-Sachs lesion via a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Fifty patients (mean age, 27 years) with <25% glenoid defect who were treated with arthroscopic Bankart repair for recurrent anterior dislocation were assessed at a mean follow-up of 28 months. All had an on-track Hill-Sachs lesion. The Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI) and Rowe scores were used for the clinical evaluation. The Hill-Sachs interval was measured on 3-dimensional computed tomography images and divided by the glenoid track width, defined as the Hill-Sachs occupancy (in percentages). The glenoid track was divided into 4 zones based on the percentage of the Hill-Sachs occupancy: zone 1, <25%; zone 2, 25% to <50%; zone 3, 50% to <75%; and zone 4, ≥75%. Results: The recurrence rate was 6% (3 of 50 shoulders). The Rowe score significantly improved from 45.2 ± 4.7 (mean ± SD) preoperatively to 92.3 ± 6.5 at the final follow-up ( P < .05). The WOSI score also significantly increased from 46.6% ± 19.3% preoperatively to 72.3% ± 21.0% at the final follow-up ( P < .001). The WOSI score of patients in zone 4 (peripheral-track lesion) (n = 10) was significantly lower than those in the other zones (central-track lesion) ( P = .0379). Of the 10 patients with the peripheral-track lesion, 5 had a <40% WOSI score, similar to the preoperative WOSI score (46.6%). Conclusion: Patients with on-track lesions can be divided into 2 subgroups: those with the Hill-Sachs occupancy ≥75% (peripheral-track lesion) showed significantly worse WOSI score without recurrent instability events than those with the Hill-Sacks occupancy <75% (central-track lesion).


2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elfriede R. Greimel ◽  
Raimund Winter ◽  
Karin S. Kapp ◽  
Josef Haas

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 427
Author(s):  
Shuo Wang ◽  
Anna Prizment ◽  
Bharat Thyagarajan ◽  
Anne Blaes

Rapid improvements in cancer survival led to the realization that many modalities used to treat or control cancer may cause accelerated aging in cancer survivors. Clinically, “accelerated aging” phenotypes in cancer survivors include secondary cancers, frailty, chronic organ dysfunction, and cognitive impairment, all of which can impact long-term health and quality of life in cancer survivors. The treatment-induced accelerated aging in cancer survivors could be explained by telomere attrition, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, DNA damage, and epigenetic alterations. Several aging clocks and biomarkers of aging have been proposed to be potentially useful in estimating biological age, which can provide specific information about how old an individual is biologically independent of chronological age. Measuring biological age in cancer survivors may be important for two reasons. First, it can better predict the risk of cancer treatment-related comorbidities than chronological age. Second, biological age may provide additional value in evaluating the effects of treatments and personalizing cancer therapies to maximize efficacy of treatment. A deeper understanding of treatment-induced accelerated aging in individuals with cancer may lead to novel strategies that reduce the accelerated aging and improve the quality of life in cancer survivors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiyadu Padmini ◽  
K. Yellamma Bai

Throughout the world, there have been drastic decline in mortality rate in pediatric leukemic population due to early diagnosis and improvements in oncology treatment. The pediatric dentist plays an important role in the prevention, stabilization, and treatment of oral and dental problems that can compromise the child’s health and quality of life during, and follow up of the cancer treatment. This manuscript discusses recommendations and promotes dental care of the pediatric leukemic patients.


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