Disparities among GU cancer patients referred to palliative care.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (28_suppl) ◽  
pp. 114-114
Author(s):  
Saad Omar Atiq ◽  
James Helzberg ◽  
Nathan Hirshman ◽  
Zainab Atiq ◽  
Daniel J. George ◽  
...  

114 Background: The role of palliative care in genitourinary (GU) malignancies has been understudied. Despite representing nearly 25% of new cancer diagnoses, with over 350,000 new cases diagnosed each year, few GU patients have been included in palliative care trials under the theory that symptoms are less severe for GU patients than other solid tumors. Early involvement of palliative care services improves the patient care experience, decreases healthcare utilization, is associated with survival benefit, and results in improved quality of life and mood. To further elucidate the role of palliative care in oncology, we must study its utility in subsets of malignancy like GU cancers, as needs for patients may differ by malignancy type. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of initial outpatient palliative care visits was performed using data from the Quality Data Collection Tool for Palliative Care (QDACT-PC) database from 2014-2020. QDACT-PC is a web-based, point-of-care registry used by physicians across the United States to track quality metrics associated with patient consultations. Data was collected and analyzed from patients' initial visits including pain scale, dyspnea scale, feeling of well-being (Quality of Life scale), fatigue scale, constipation scale, palliative performance status (PPS), and preference for resuscitation status. Scales for these variables were 0-10, with the exception of a scale of 0-100% for PPS. Patients less than 18 and greater than 90 years old were excluded. Chi-squared and Student’s t-tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Results: 824 GU oncology patients (358 prostate cancer patients, 251 bladder cancer patients, 215 renal cancer patients) were compared against all patients with non-GU cancers (7807 patients). Notably, non-GU patients reported higher rates of fatigue (4.50 vs. 4.13, p = 0.0013) and dyspnea (1.63 vs. 1.11, p < 0.0001) than GU patients. GU malignancies had non-significant higher reported pain (3.73 vs. 3.60, p = 0.3109) and constipation (1.96 vs. 1.83, p = 0.2319) and lower PPS (4.95 vs. 4.96, p = 0.8555) and QOL (4.55 vs. 4.73, p = 0.0962). Preference for resuscitation at the time of referral was similar between the two groups (p = 0.6339). Only 16.5% of prostate cancer patients referred to palliative care in this database were black, while black patients are often estimated to represent 30% of new prostate cancer diagnoses each year. Conclusions: GU patients represent 9.54% of cancer patients seen by palliative care while the incidence is nearly 25%. Traditionally, GU patients were underrepresented in palliative care trials under the notion of less severe symptoms; however, this study demonstrates that GU patients have as severe symptoms as non-GU patients, highlighting a disparity in referral to palliative care. Furthermore, the lack of representation of black patients suggests potential inequity and warrants further investigation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 07 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepika Purohit ◽  
Parijat Pandey

Background:: Cancer is one of the significant causes of morbidity and mortality in patients globally. Lung cancer, among other cancers, remains to be one of the principal causes of deaths in both men and women. The most common type of lung cancer is the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Apart from lung cancer, pancreatic cancer is also one of the common cancers currently. Objective:: The assessment of QoL in erlotinib-treated patients can also prove to be very useful in the establishment of this drug as the main treatment option for the patients with pancreatic and lung cancer. Methods:: Therapies that target EGFR-mediated signalling are the latest keystones for treating these two types of cancers. They comprise of two main treatment modalities: firstly, against the extracellular fields, that include monoclonal antibodies and secondly, mechanisms that create interferences in the signalling pathways, primarily the small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Results:: Quality of life (QoL) is one of the key advantages in erlotinib therapy over chemotherapy. Conclusion:: The present review reports the role of erlotinib in improving the quality of life of cancer patients especially in NSCLC and pancreatic cancers. The studies or trials establishing the relations between erlotinib and QoL are discussed in detail in this review.


Author(s):  
Elliot Friedman ◽  
Beth LeBreton ◽  
Lindsay Fuzzell ◽  
Elizabeth Wehrpsann

By many estimates the majority of adults over age 65 have two or more chronic medical conditions (multimorbidity) and are consequently at increased risk of adverse functional outcomes. Nonetheless, many older adults with multimorbidity are able to maintain high levels of function and retain good quality of life. Research presented here is designed to understand the influences that help ensure better functional outcomes in these older adults. This chapter presents findings that draw on data from the Midlife in the United States study. The independent and interactive contributions of diverse factors to multimorbidity and changes in multimorbidity over time are reviewed. The degree that multimorbidity increases risk of cognitive impairment and disability is examined. The role of inflammation as a mediator is considered. Multimorbidity is increasingly the norm for older adults, so better understanding of factors contributing to variability in multimorbidity-related outcomes can lead to improved quality of life.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. QUEENAN ◽  
D. FELDMAN-STEWART ◽  
M. BRUNDAGE ◽  
P.A. GROOME

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Chu ◽  
Marko Popovic ◽  
Edward Chow ◽  
David Cella ◽  
Jennifer L Beaumont ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. S13
Author(s):  
Shrinivas Datar ◽  
Swapna Kulkarni ◽  
Nilambari Patil ◽  
Amruta Salunkhe ◽  
Suchita Vaidya ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Lastrucci ◽  
Silvia Bertocci ◽  
Vittorio Bini ◽  
Simona Borghesi ◽  
Roberta De Majo ◽  
...  

Cancer ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 1484-1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M. Gilbert ◽  
Rodney L. Dunn ◽  
Daniela Wittmann ◽  
Jeffrey S. Montgomery ◽  
John M. Hollingsworth ◽  
...  

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