Depression in Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients: The Feeling of Burden As a Predictor of Depression

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (36) ◽  
pp. 5890-5895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Sun Rhee ◽  
Young Ho Yun ◽  
Sohee Park ◽  
Dong Ok Shin ◽  
Kwang Mi Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Family Impact ◽  
Caregiver Depression ◽  
Quality Of Life Index

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of and to identify the predictors of depression in family caregivers of cancer patients. Patients and Methods We enrolled 310 caregivers of cancer patients from the National Cancer Center, Korea, on this study and obtained demographic information for both patients and caregivers. To assess caregiver depression and its predictors, we used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Caregiver Quality of Life Index–Cancer, and the Family Impact Questionnaire. We used logistic regression analysis to identify independent predictors of caregiver depression. Results The majority (67%) of caregivers had high depression scores (BDI > 13), and 35% had very high depression scores (BDI > 21). In a multiple logistic regression model, caregivers who were women, the spouse of the patient, in poor health, feeling burdened, adapting poorly, unable to function normally, or caring for a patient with poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status were more likely to experience depression (P < .01 for all values). Conclusion Depression was highly prevalent among cancer patient family caregivers, and care burden was its best predictor. Interventions aimed at reducing the psychiatric effects of cancer should focus not only on the patient but also on the caregiver.

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Adds Information to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status in Elderly Cancer Patients: An Italian Group for Geriatric Oncology Study

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 494-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazzaro Repetto ◽  
Lucia Fratino ◽  
Riccardo A. Audisio ◽  
Antonella Venturino ◽  
Walter Gianni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Geriatric Assessment ◽  
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Geriatric Oncology ◽  
Oncology Group ◽  
Elderly Cancer Patients

PURPOSE: To appraise the performance of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in elderly cancer patients (≥ 65 years) and to evaluate whether it could add further information with respect to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 363 elderly cancer patients (195 males, 168 females; median age, 72 years) with solid (n = 271) or hematologic (n = 92) tumors. In addition to PS, their physical function was assessed by means of the activity of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales. Comorbidities were categorized according to Satariano’s index. The association between PS, comorbidity, and the items of the CGA was assessed by means of logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: These 363 elderly cancer patients had a good functional and mental status: 74% had a good PS (ie, lower than 2), 86% were ADL-independent, and 52% were IADL-independent. Forty-one percent of patients had one or more comorbid conditions. Of the patients with a good PS, 13.0% had two or more comorbidities; 9.3% and 37.7% had ADL or IADL limitations, respectively. By multivariate analysis, elderly cancer patients who were ADL-dependent or IADL-dependent had a nearly two-fold higher probability of having an elevated Satariano’s index than independent patients. A strong association emerged between PS and CGA, with a nearly five-fold increased probability of having a poor PS (ie, ≥ 2) recorded in patients dependent for ADL or IADL. CONCLUSION: The CGA adds substantial information on the functional assessment of elderly cancer patients, including patients with a good PS. The role of PS as unique marker of functional status needs to be reappraised among elderly cancer patients.

scholarly journals The real-world experience with nivolumab in previously treated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer from a cancer center in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. 50-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waseem Abbas ◽  
Rudra Prasad Acharya ◽  
Archit Pandit ◽  
Saurabh Gupta ◽  
Ranga Raju Rao
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Prior Therapy ◽  
Previously Treated Patients ◽  
Previously Treated

Abstract Background: PDL-1 inhibitors have emerged as the new standard of care for second line treatment of NSCLC. Methods: Eligible patients included, histologically proven NSCLC, ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status of 0, 1 or 2, age 18 years and above, availability of pre-treatment tumor specimen, adequate end organ function, at least one prior platinum-based therapy. Patients who received a minimum of 6 doses of nivolumab were eligible. Results: Eleven previously treated patients with chemotherapy, started on nivolumab from April of 2016 to December of 2018, were retrospectively studied and analysed. The median age of patients was 58 years. Eight (72.73%) of the eleven patients were male. Seven (63.64%) of the patients were current or former smokers. Majority of patients had non-squamous histology; seven (63.64%) adenocarcinoma and four (36.36%) squamous cell carcinoma. 5 (45.46%) of the patients received one prior therapy, three (27.27%) received two prior therapies, and three (27.27%) received three prior therapies. Four (36.36%) of the patients had brain metastasis. Two (18.18%) of the patients were more than 70 years of age. Median number of cycles of nivolumab administered were 10 (range, 6 to 21). At the time of analysis, the median PFS was 8 months (95% CI, 1.52-14.47) and median OS was 15 months (95% CI, 6.9-23.09). Treatment was well tolerated and generally side effects were grade 1 and grade 2, except two patients who develop grade 3/4 pneumonitis. Conclusions: This is a real-world study of eleven previously treated patients with chemotherapy, started on Nivolumab from April of 2016 to December of 2018. Although, our sample size was small, our data supports the use of nivolumab as a new treatment option for patients of stage 4 NSCLC.

scholarly journals Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Patients With Advanced Germ Cell Tumor Treated at a Tertiary Cancer Center in Brazil

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Vitor Fiorin Vasconcellos ◽  
Diogo Assed Bastos ◽  
Allan A. Lima Pereira ◽  
Gabriel Yoshiyuki Watarai ◽  
Bruno Rodriguez Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cell ◽  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Germ Cell Tumors ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Poor Risk

PURPOSE Reported treatment outcomes for patients with advanced germ cell tumors (aGCT) are based mainly on series from developed nations. Data from low- and middle-income countries are underrepresented. MATERIAL AND METHODS From 2000 to 2015, a retrospective analysis identified 300 patients with aGCT treated at our institution. Kaplan-Meier methods were used for analysis of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) according to the International Germ Cell Consensus Classification Group (IGCCCG). RESULTS Patients’ median age was 28 years. According to the IGCCCG, 57% had good-, 18.3% intermediate-, and 24.7% poor-risk disease. Median α-fetoprotein levels were 2.9, 243, and 3,998 ng/mL, and those of human chorionic gonadotropin were 0.4, 113, and 301.5 mUI/mL in IGCCCG good-, intermediate-, and poor-risk groups, respectively. At a median 46 months of follow-up, 93 PFS events and 45 deaths had occurred and estimated 5-year PFS and OS were 69% and 85%, respectively, including 83% and 95.3% in good-risk, 70.9% and 83.6% in intermediate-risk, and 35.1% and 62.2% in poor-risk patients, respectively. In multivariable analysis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 2 was a significant independent prognostic factor with a hazard ratio of 2.58 (95% CI, 1.55 to 4.29; P < .001) and 6.20 (95% CI, 2.97 to 12.92; P < .001) for PFS and OS, respectively. CONCLUSION Brazilian patients with aGCT in this cohort had similar outcomes as patients in the IGCCCG database. In comparison with contemporary series, patients with intermediate- and poor-risk aGCT had slightly inferior PFS and OS, possibly due to a high percentage of patients with poor performance status and less use of high-dose chemotherapy.

scholarly journals An audit of the results of a triplet metronomic chemotherapy regimen incorporating a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers patients

2016 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 048-051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay M. Patil ◽  
Santam Chakraborty ◽  
T. K. Jithin ◽  
T. P. Sajith Babu ◽  
Satheesh Babu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Kinase Inhibitor ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Metronomic Chemotherapy ◽  
Progression Free Survival ◽  
Head And Neck Cancers ◽  
Cancer Center

Abstract Background: Addition of erlotinib to metronomic chemotherapy (MCT) may lead to further improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival in head and neck cancers. The aim of this study was to study the PFS with MCT + erlotinib combination in our setting. Methods: A single-arm prospective observational study conducted at Malabar Cancer Center. Patients warranting palliative chemotherapy for head and neck cancers, having adequate organ function, not-affording cetuximab and not willing for intravenous chemotherapy were included in this study. Oral methotrexate (15 mg/m 2 /week), oral celecoxib (200 mg twice daily), and erlotinib (150 mg once daily) were administered till the progression of the disease or till intolerable side-effects. Patients underwent toxicity (CTCAE version 4.02) and response (RECIST version 1.1) assessment every 30 days. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16 (IBM, New York, USA). Descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier analysis have been performed. Results: A total of 15 patients received MCT. The median age of these patients was 65 years (range: 48-80). The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status was 0-1 in seven patients (46.7%), while it was 2 in eight patients (53.3%). The primary sites of tumor were predominantly oral cavity, 11 (73.4%). Prior to MCT, treatment with palliative radiation therapy was given in 11 patients and curative treatment in two patients. The best response post-MCT was complete remission in two patients, partial remission in seven patients, stable disease in four patients, and progressive disease in two patients. The median estimated PFS was 148 days (95% confidence interval 95.47-200.52 days). For a median follow-up of 181 days, there were only three deaths. Grade 3-4 toxicity was seen in six patients (40%). Dose reduction was required in four patients (26.7%). Conclusion: The addition of erlotinib to an MCT schedule of methotrexate and celecoxib resulted in a promising PFS and should be tested in future studies.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Opioid Treatment in Cancer Patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 256-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matina Symeonidi ◽  
Irene Panagiotou ◽  
Eleni Tsilika ◽  
Anna Roumeliotou ◽  
Antonis Galanos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Events ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Opioid Analgesic ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Oral Morphine ◽  
Brief Pain Inventory ◽  
Transdermal Fentanyl ◽  
Factors Affecting

Purpose: Pain is prevalent in cancer patients, appearing to be moderate to severe in more than one third of them. Despite the fact that fentanyl is widely used with effective analgesic results, some patients do not correspond to treatment, resulting in opioid change. Methods: This is a cohort study, performed in Greek patients with cancer. Its scope was to identify potential reasons responsible for opioid change, due to transdermal-fentanyl intolerance, resulting from inadequate analgesia (pain relief<33% in 1week) and/or unacceptable adverse-events (grade≥3 at Common Terminology Criteria-v4.0). The final sample included 289 participants. To investigate responsible reasons for transdermal-fentanyl intolerance we studied its relation with patients’ history, haematology, biochemistry, body-mass-index, demographic and disease related characteristics. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status scale, the Mini Mental State Examination questionnaire, the M.D.Anderson Symptom Inventory and the Greek Brief Pain Inventory were also used to measure performance status and quality-of-life for the same reason. Results: Almost one third of the patients had to change to an alternative opioid oral-morphine in order to achieve adequate analgesia or/and avoid adverse-events. The most common adverse-events observed were nausea/vomiting and sleepiness. Statistical analysis demonstrated that younger age (OR=0.976) and obesity (OR=0.29 against underweight, OR=0.39 against normal, OR=0.48 against pre-obese) had a higher possibility to contribute to modification of the analgesic treatment. Furthermore, a higher impact of symptoms in patient’s life (OR=1.184) and chemotherapy (OR=2.109) could also contribute to the need of change of the opioid analgesic medication. Conclusion: This study found significant variables for transdermal-fentanyl intolerance. This knowledge may help person-center care in moderate to severe cancer pain. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see “For Readers”) may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue’s contents page.

scholarly journals Hyponatremia in Cancer Patients Hospitalized in a Palliative Care Department: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Ferraz Gonçalves ◽  
Mariana Brandão ◽  
Ana Arede ◽  
Bárbara Prucha ◽  
Inês Grilo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Serum Sodium ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Department ◽  
Median Serum ◽  
Metastatic Sites

Introduction: Hyponatremia is frequent in cancer patients, as many studies carried out in these patients have shown. However, there are only a few studies carried out at the end of life and in palliative care. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hyponatremia in cancer patients in the palliative care department of an oncology center and its association with survival.Material and Methods: The study included the first 300 patients hospitalized in the palliative care department in 2017. Survival was measured from the day of hospitalization until death.Results: Serum sodium was measured in 170 (59%) patients. The median serum concentration was 135 mmol/L (109 to 145). Among 91 (54%) patients, serum sodium was within the normal range, 59 (35%) had mild hyponatremia, 13 (8%) had moderate and seven (4%) had profound hyponatremia. The median survival was 13 days (1 to 1020). Serum sodium was not significantly associated with survival (p = 0.463). Regarding other variables, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was significantly associated with survival, while gender, age, primary cancer and number of metastatic sites were not.Discussion: Hyponatremia, mainly mild and moderate, was found in almost half of the patients included in this study. However, unlike other studies, hyponatremia was not associated with a poorer prognosis.Conclusion: Hyponatremia is common in cancer patients receiving palliative care but did not seem to influence survival.

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