Treatment of depressive symptoms in breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant therapy.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 9631-9631
Author(s):  
Rudolph M. Navari

9631 Background: Studies have shown a high prevalence of depression in patients with cancer. Women with breast cancer may have a high risk of depression particularly in a post-menopausal or estrogen deficient state and may develop a high level of depressive symptoms at the time of initial diagnosis. Newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer patients were screened for depressive symptoms prior to the initiation of adjuvant therapy. The oral antidepressant fluoxetine was studied to determine if its use affected depressive symptoms, completion of adjuvant treatment, quality of life, and survival. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer were screened for depressive symptoms prior to the initiation of adjuvant therapy. Patients with depressive symptoms were randomized in a double blind fashion to daily oral fluoxetine (20 mg) or placebo. Patients were then followed for 6 months and evaluated for quality of life, completion of adjuvant treatment, and depressive symptoms. Patients with stage I disease at the time of initial diagnosis were subsequently assessed for disease recurrence and survival at five years. Results: Two hundred three of 357 screened patients with newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer were found to have depressive symptoms prior to the initiation of adjuvant therapy. One hundred ninety-three patients were randomized to fluoxetine or placebo. The use of fluoxetine for 6 months resulted in a significantly (p<0.01) higher number of patients with an improvement in quality of life, a higher completion of adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy plus hormonal therapy) and a reduction in depressive symptoms compared to patients who received placebo. At five years, there was a significant (p<0.01) improvement in survival for patients with Stage I disease who received fluoxetine, possibly related to a higher completion of adjuvant treatment. Conclusions: An antidepressant should be considered for early stage breast cancer patients with depressive symptoms who are receiving adjuvant treatment.

1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1380-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Lindley ◽  
S Vasa ◽  
W T Sawyer ◽  
E P Winer

PURPOSE To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of breast cancer patients who survived 2 to 5 years following initiation of adjuvant cytotoxic and/or hormonal therapy and to characterize relationships between QOL and patient physical symptoms, sexual function, and preferences regarding adjuvant treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eighty-six patients who had completed systemic adjuvant therapy for early-stage breast cancer between 1988 and 1991 were surveyed by written questionnaire and telephone interview. Sociodemographic information was obtained for each patient, and patients were asked to complete the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), the Symptom Distress Scale (SDS), the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Short Form 36 (SF-36), a series of questions regarding sexual function, and a survey about preferences for adjuvant therapy in relation to possible benefit. RESULTS The mean FLIC score among all patients was 138.3 (+/- 12.2), which suggests a high level of QOL. The reported frequency of moderate to severe symptoms was generally low (ie, < 15%), with fatigue (31.4%), insomnia (23.3%), and local numbness at the site of surgery (22.1%) occurring with greatest frequency. Patients reported a wide range of sexual difficulties. Preference assessment showed that more than 65% of patients were willing to undergo 6 months of chemotherapy for a 5% increase in likelihood of cancer cure. CONCLUSION Self-rated QOL in breast cancer patients 2 to 5 years following adjuvant therapy was generally favorable. Less than one third of patients reported moderate to severe symptoms. Selected aspects of sexual function appeared to be compromised. The majority of patients indicated a willingness to accept 6 months of chemotherapy for small to modest potential benefit.


Trials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajie Ji ◽  
Siyu Li ◽  
Xinyue Zhang ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Qing Lu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of use in breast cancer, but lacking systematic evidence to support its clinical benefits. In this study, we evaluated the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of moxibustion combined with decoctions for treating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression (CIM) in early-stage breast cancer patients. Methods This is a randomized controlled clinical trial single-blinded for TCM decoction but not moxibustion. Patients are equally divided into the control group without decoction and moxibustion treatment (control), the decoction+moxibustion group (MD), and the placebo+moxibustion group (MP), according to the following stratification factors: age (below 40s, 40s, 50s, and 60s or above), chemotherapy regimen (anthracyclines, taxanes, anthracyclines+taxane, and others), and chemotherapy strategy (adjuvant and neoadjuvant). The TCM decoction is Wenshen Shengbai Decoction. The anticipated sample size is 462 cases (154 cases in each group). All participants are expected to treat with chemotherapy and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF). The primary outcomes include the proportion of patients with relief of leukopenia and/or neutropenia, the myelosuppression-associated serious adverse event including grade 3–4 leukopenia and/or neutropenia, and febrile neutropenia, and the dose of rhG-CSF. The secondary outcomes include chemotherapy adherence, stratified analysis, adverse reactions, quality of life by EORTC Breast-Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire including EORTC QLQ-C30 (V3.0) and QLQ-BR23, TCM Constitution, and 3-year disease-free survival and overall survival. Baseline information including age, surgical approach, chemotherapy regimen and strategy, pathological stage, and molecular subtype will be recorded. Discussion This will be the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of moxibustion combined with TCM decoction in treating CIM in early-stage breast cancer patients, aiming to standardize the TCM decoction and moxibustion method, thus providing evidence for its clinical benefit. Trial registration chictr.org.cn ChiCTR-INR-16009557. Registered on 23 October 2016.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153473541982957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoyao Sun ◽  
Hualei Huang ◽  
Shengjun Ji ◽  
Xiaochen Chen ◽  
Yongqing Xu ◽  
...  

Purpose: Positive results have appeared among nonmetastatic breast cancer patients with the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, earlier stage patient results have been mixed. This novelty of this study was the focus on stage I and II breast cancer patients. The objective of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis of psychosocial functions in early-stage breast cancer survivors to determine its efficacy. Methods: A search of Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and PubMed yielded 3237 abstracts, which were independently evaluated by research pairs. Meta-analysis was conducted on 8 studies that included a total of 1053 patients. Psychosocial functions were categorized according to 3 domains: (1) anxiety, (2) depression, and (3) quality of life. Results: Improvement in anxiety was observed in patients treated with CBT relative to controls without CBT ( P = .04). Depression and quality of life improvement was not observed in the CBT group within or after 4 months of treatment ( P > .05). Conclusions: The results indicated that observed improvements in anxiety in patients with early-stage breast cancer were moderate. The effectiveness of CBT for the improvement of patient outcomes could not be determined, given the methodological and clinical shortcomings of the included trials.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Gerasimčik-Pulko ◽  
Margarita Pileckaitė-Markovienė ◽  
Giedrė Bulotienė ◽  
Valerijus Ostapenko

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12065-e12065
Author(s):  
Christian A. Thomas

e12065 Background: Adjuvant hormone therapy is a crucial part of the treatment for patients with early stage breast cancer and an important quality measure for programs such as QOPI and the oncology care model (OCM). However, it is not known which factors influence some patients with early stage breast cancer to decline adjuvant hormone therapy. We hypothesized that specific self-reported symptoms might impact a patient’s decision to accept or decline adjuvant hormone therapy. Methods: Patients with stage 0 or I breast cancer were identified by chart review from 2011-2016 and de-identified. On the day patients received a recommendation for adjuvant treatment the following patient reported outcome measures (PROs) were analyzed: difficulty sleeping (DS), fatigue (F), mood (M such as anxiety and depression), and pain (P) on a 0-4 symptom scale based on CTCAE v. 4. PROs were then linked with a patient’s decision to accept or decline adjuvant therapy. Results: A total of 287 patients with stage 0 (n = 80) or stage I (n = 207) breast cancer were identified. 38 stage O and 103 stage I patients had evaluable PROs on the same day a recommendation for adjuvant hormone therapy was made. Overall 18/38 (47.4%) of stage 0 patients and 90 of 103 (87.4%) of stage I patients accepted adjuvant treatment. Stage 0 patients declining adjuvant therapy reported any grade of PROs: DS (40%, n = 8), F (35%, n = 7), M (35%, n = 7), P (20%, n = 4). Stage 0 patients accepting treatment reported: DS (22%, n = 4), F (44%, n = 8), M (6%, n = 1), P (20%, n = 4). Stage I patients who declined treatment reported: DS (54%, n = 7), F (46%, n = 6), M (38%, n = 5), P (62%, n = 8). Stage I patients accepting treatment reported: DS (41%, n = 37), F (49%, n = 44), M (31%, n = 28), P (36%, n = 32). Conclusions: Early stage breast cancer patients declining adjuvant hormone therapy are more likely to self report symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, mood disturbances (anxiety, depression), and pain than those accepting treatment.


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