scholarly journals Electrolytes and Nutritional Element Assessment among Iraqi Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (A) ◽  
pp. 446-450
Author(s):  
Mohammed Salim Abdulrahman ◽  
Hedef D. El-Yassin ◽  
Nada A. S. Alwan
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Serum Magnesium ◽  
Significant Rise ◽  
Baseline Measure ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Student’S T ◽  
Level Of Significance

INTRODUCTION: Cancer may lead to abnormalities in electrolyte levels and acid-base disturbances in affected patients that could be induced by the tumor itself or by chemotherapy treatment. Thus, early detection is vital to improve short-term outcome and quality of life. AIM: This study aims to assess the electrolyte and protein changes in cancer patients on chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort study was carried out on 100 newly diagnosed patients with cancer in Al-Amal National Radiation Oncology Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, during the period from January 2019 to July 2019. An assessment of the studied samples was conducted as a baseline measure before receiving chemotherapy and after the third cycle of that treatment. Quantitative parameters included measurements of serum magnesium, calcium, sodium, chloride, potassium, zinc, Hb1Ac, total protein, and ferritin. Data analysis was carried out using Student’s t-test for variable levels. Level of significance of ≤0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: The studied sample comprised 77 females (77%) and 23 males (23%). There were significant decreases in the levels of magnesium and zinc while no significant changes were noted in the levels of other electrolytes. On the other hand, there was a significant decrease in the level of proteins and a significant rise in HBA1c and ferritin. CONCLUSION: Cancer patients on chemotherapy regimens suffer from major changes in the levels of vitamins, elements, and neurotransmitter that affect their lifestyle, survival, and prognosis. Frequent regular monitoring of such changes is required to harvest a positive impact on the lifestyle of cancer patients lifestyle and their outcome.

scholarly journals Serum Vitamin Levels among Iraqi Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (B) ◽  
pp. 231-234
Author(s):  
Mohammed Salim Abdulrahman ◽  
Hedef D. El-Yassin ◽  
Nada. A. S. Al-Alwan
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Serum Vitamin ◽  
Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Nutritional Elements ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Elisa Technique

BACKGROUND: Cancers are an abnormal irregular growth of cells. There is an interaction between cancer cells, immune cells, and neurotransmitters with nutritional elements and vitamins. With the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, many studies have highlighted the importance of these interactions and the role of chemotherapeutic drugs in augmenting or ameliorating such changes. Therefore, early detection of vitamins level changes is vital to improve patients’ short-term outcome and quality of life. AIM: The aim was assessment of serum vitamins level changes in patients with cancer pre- and post-chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort study was carried out on newly diagnosed patients with cancer in Al-Amal National Radiation Oncology Hospital/Baghdad/Iraq during the period from January 2019 to July 2019. Assessments of the studied samples were conducted as a baseline before receiving chemotherapy and after the third cycle of chemotherapy. Weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were measured for each subject enrolled in the study. Serum level of the following vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, D, and E was measured using ELISA technique. RESULTS: One Hundred patients who were diagnosed with different types of cancer were enrolled in this study. Seventy seven (77%) females and twenty three (23%) males. Mean age was 50.15 years ranged between (18-75) years old, BMI range (16-42). Serum vitamin levels that have shown a significant decrease post chemotherapy as compared with baseline were: A (0.64 ± 0.23 vs 0.64 ± 0.23, P=0.0003), E (19.47 ± 4.714 vs 14.70 ± 5.354, P<0.0001), B12 (366.0 ± 95.94 vs 291.1 ± 102.6, P<0.001), B9 (16.13 ± 4.13 vs 16.13 ± 4.13, P<0.0001) whereas vitamins B6 and D which showed lower than normal baseline level underwent significant increase after chemotherapy yet remained below normal (vitamin B6 4.19 ± 1.94 vs 8.22 ± 5.39; vitamin D 21.11 ± 7.21 vs 26.55 ± 15.22). CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of updating and tailoring our regimens to suit the changes of the nutritional elements and parameters of performance status of cancer patients in terms of outcome and patient satisfaction.

scholarly journals Non-drug Stress Management for Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-217
Author(s):  
Tipsuda Sumneangsanor ◽  
Manyat Ruchiwit ◽  
Linda Weglicki
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Anxiety Reduction ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Qualitative Approaches

Background: Patients with cancer suffer from the physical impacts of the disease, including pain in organs where cancer has spread to and treatment side effects. Many factors affect the mental state of cancer patients, especially stress which can cause muscle tension around the affected area and create a higher degree of pain. Stress impacts physical conditions and results in a worse quality of life. Thus, an appropriate approach to cope with, evaluate, and manage stress in cancer patients is considered crucial. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine and evaluate non-drug stress management guidelines for cancer patients. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken to synthesize knowledge concerning stress and non-drug stress management for cancer patients. Information was sourced from documents and articles published by related institutions in relevant electronic databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO, Dynamed, and ScienceDirect between 2013 and 2019. No limitations were imposed regarding the type of study design previously used. Conference abstracts were not accepted. The quality of all included studies was independently appraised by two review writers. Results: The search generated 129 studies, of which only 20 met the inclusion criteria. The 20 studies cover 11 studies of music for cancer prevention and 6 studies of mindfulness-based stress reduction in cancer patients. The studies utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches, while three studies of biofeedback in cancer patients only collected quantitative data. For the outcome from the reviews, 6 studies found that music therapy, biofeedback, and mindfulness greatly impact physical alterations such as insomnia, nausea or vomiting, and pain. Furthermore, 17 studies found that non-drug management techniques had a positive impact on psychological adjustments such as stress and anxiety reduction and relaxation promotion. Non-drug stress management such as music, biofeedback, and mindfulness was found to reduce stress among patients. Conclusion: This review confirms that non-drug stress management approaches can reduce suffering, lead to a better quality of life, reduce mortality rates, minimize treatment costs, and prevent and mitigate unwanted symptoms in cancer patients. This approach can be adapted and applied to patients with other diseases in the future. However, because several of the reviewed studies did not have a follow-up period, the present study was unable to collect evidence suggesting how long the observed benefits will remain.

scholarly journals Professional view of doctors on improving the organization of radiation research for cancer patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-135
Author(s):  
S. Yu. Lomakov
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Waiting Times ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Student’S T

Purpose of the study. To form proposals for improving the organization of the radiology diagnostics service in Oncology. Materials and methods. In 2019, the opinion of radiation diagnostics doctors (n=230) on the availability and quality of radiation studies for cancer patients was studied. The obtained empirical data were statistically processed with the calculation of intensive and extensive indicators, average values (M±δ) with a risk of error of 0.05. The student's t-test was used to assess the statistical significance of differences. The original data had a normal distribution. Individual parameters of the research results were given a score. Results. Radiologists highly rated the quality of their primary specialization for working with cancer patients (4.6 ± 0.3 points) and further postgraduate education (4.2 ± 0.8 points), but 38.6% need to deepen this knowledge. The respondents indicated that patients are not sufficiently informed about radiation studies, including: about the methods (67.3%); about contraindications (34.3%); about the procedure for obtaining a conclusion (30.8%); about the established waiting times (21.7%); about the procedure for pre-registration (15.6%). 33.9% of doctors pointed to the unreasonableness of radiological examinations in certain cases in cancer patients. According to the respondents, it will improve the quality and availability of medical care for cancer patients: additional training of radiologists (70.0%) and clinicians (42.6%); equipping medical institutions (38.2%), a separate procedure for routing cancer patients to radiological research (44.7%); increasing the staff of radiologists (36.1%) and nurses (17.4%); using telemedicine technologies (31,7%); excluding cases of unjustified referral of patients to research (27.3%); uninterrupted operation of medical equipment (27.3%). Conclusion. The results of the study revealed systemic shortcomings in the organization of the radiation diagnostics service in providing medical care to patients with cancer, the elimination of which will improve the system of organizing medical care for them, improve its quality and accessibility.

Mood disorders and outcomes in lung cancer patients undergoing surgery: a brief summery

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Salvina Signorelli ◽  
Teresa Surace ◽  
Marcello Migliore ◽  
Eugenio Aguglia
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Mood Disorders ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Lung Cancer Patients ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
The Impact

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Literature reports depression and anxiety are the most common psychiatric symptoms in cancer patients. Notably, lung cancer is associated with major depressive disorder in 5–13% of cases. The present article aims to give an overview regarding the impact of mood disorders on the outcomes of patients affected by lung cancer. Our review showed that pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy can be useful to improve the quality of life of patients with lung cancer. Moreover, the treatment of depression and anxiety can be associated with a reduced mortality. In conclusion, it is important to consider psychiatric care as important as other adjuvant oncologic therapies in patients with cancer.

scholarly journals The impact of informing diagnosis on quality of life in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Wan ◽  
Xianggui Luo ◽  
Louis.B NDZANA MVOGO ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Chen Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Biomedical Literature ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
General Quality ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective To assess the impact of informing diagnosis and disease status on the quality of life in patients with cancer Method We searched the follow databases, Pubmed, CENTRAL(Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), PsycINFO, WEB OF SCIENCE, Embase, CBM (Chinese Biomedical Literature database), WANFANG database (Chinese Medicine Premier), and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure). And the terms used are as follows: neoplasm, cancer, tumour, tumor, carcinoma, disclosure, truth telling, breaking bad news, knowledge, knowing, awareness, quality of life, QOL. Pairs of reviewers independently screened documents and extracted the data. Meta-analysis was conducted by Revman 5.0 software. Results There were 11740 records retrieved from databases and 23 studies were included finally. Meta-analysis of informed and uniformed cancer patients revealed no differences in both the general quality of life and symptoms of fatigue, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss and diarrhea (P>0.05). Additionally, no difference in physical function, role function, cognitive activity and emotional function between the above 2 groups(P>0.05) were found. On the vitality area, the patients who were totally informed about their diagnosis had higher vitality than the uniformed patients. However, patients aware about their illnesses seemed to get lower scores in social function. Between the partly informed of the diagnosis and uninformed cancer patients, there were no differences in general quality of life, function domains and disease-related symptoms (P>0.05). Conclusion Informing the cancer patients their diagnosis may not have a bad effect on their quality of life. PROSPERO registration number CRD42017060073.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Religious and Spiritual Support in Sri Lankan Patients with Cancer

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eranthi Weeratunga ◽  
Chandanie Senadheera ◽  
Manjula Hettiarachchi ◽  
Bilesha Perera
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Spiritual Support ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Abstract Background: Religious and spiritual support (RSS) is considered a vital method of coping among patients with cancer and cancer survivors. Measuring religion and spiritual support received by cancer patients has very little evidence in Sri Lanka compared to the western countries. It would be affected on cancer care management and speedy recovery process of cancer patients; could be benefited to reduce long-term suffering of patients with cancer. This study aimed to develop and validate a tool to measure religion and spiritual support in patients with cancer. Methods: WHO guidelines were incorporated into the cross-cultural adaptation of the newly developed religious and spiritual support scale (RSSS). Internal consistency for the overall RSSS was investigated using Cronbach’s alpha. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to examine the test-retest reliability of the RSSS for the same sample. Validity was checked using convergent and divergent validity. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to test factorial/construct validity.Results: The Sinhalese version of RSSS showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha-0.883). The scale revealed favourable test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.981). The overall RSSS score correlated negatively and positively with depressive symptoms (r= - 0.338, p<0.05) and quality of life scores; overall (r=0.421, p<0.001), physical (r=0.340, p<0.05), psychological (r=0.279, p=0.08), social (r=0.373, p<0.05) and environmental quality of life (r=0.429, p<0.001) confirming satisfactory divergent and convergent validity of the Sinhalese version of the RSSS. Factor analysis with PCA extracted two factors explaining 74.47% of the variance.Conclusions: The Sinhalese version of RSSS is a reliable and valid scale to assess the religious and spiritual support of patients with cancer in Sri Lanka.

Impact of palliative care (PC) consultation on quality of end-of-life (EOL) care in advanced cancer patients receiving care at a tertiary cancer center (TCC).

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 129-129
Author(s):  
Sharon Watanabe ◽  
Viane Faily ◽  
Yoko Tarumi ◽  
Robin Fainsinger ◽  
Aynharan Sinnarajah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Cancer Registry ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Cancer Type ◽  
Advanced Cancer Patients ◽  
Early Integration ◽  
Eol Care

129 Background: Early integration of PC with oncological care has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with advanced cancer, including quality of life and mood. It has also been suggested to have a positive impact on quality of EOL care. The purpose of our study was to examine how occurrence and timing of PC consultation are associated with quality of EOL care in advanced cancer patients receiving care at a Canadian TCC. Methods: In this retrospective study, patients who died between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014, had advanced cancer while receiving care at our TCC, and lived in the catchment area of our urban comprehensive integrated PC program were eligible. Date of death, demographics, and cancer type were obtained from the cancer registry. Date of diagnosis of advanced cancer was determined from electronic medical records. Occurrence and date of PC consultation were identified from the PC database. Data on quality of EOL care indicators were retrieved from the cancer registry, including, in the last 30 days of life: emergency room visits, hospital admission, hospitalization > 14 days, ICU admission, death in hospital, and chemotherapy use. Results: Of 1414 eligible patients, 1101 (77.9%) received PC consultation in hospital, outpatient clinic, or community. Patients who received PC consultation were younger than those who did not receive PC consultation (age 68.8 vs. 71.0, p = 0.01), and differed in the frequency of cancer types (p < 0.001), but not sex, marital status, or income. 679 patients (48.0%) had at least 1 indicator of quality of EOL care. Patients who did and did not receive PC consultation did not differ in the frequency of any indicators of quality of EOL care. There were also no differences in frequency of quality of EOL care indicators between patients who received their first PC consultation > 3 months vs. ≤3 months or > 6 months vs. ≤6 months before death. Conclusions: Among advanced cancer patients receiving care at our TCC, occurrence and timing of PC consultation did not affect quality of EOL care. Methodological and healthcare system differences may explain the discrepancy between our results and those of other investigators. Further research is needed.

Quality of life and satisfaction with care in a contemporary cohort of pancreatic cancer patients.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21623-e21623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Abdel-Rahman ◽  
Daniel John Renouf ◽  
David F. Schaeffer ◽  
Winson Y. Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Pancreatic Head ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Early Stage Disease

e21623 Background: Pancreatic cancer patients face significant disease- and treatment-related morbidity while management is frequently complex. With recent advances in radiation and surgery and the introduction of new systemic therapy regimens, understanding these patients’ quality of life (QOL) and their satisfaction with the care that they currently receive is essential to inform the design of future care delivery models. Methods: Pancreas Centre BC was established in British Columbia in 2012 to promote efficient triage, rapid access to multidisciplinary care, and early involvement of palliative care, if necessary. Consecutive pancreatic cancer patients who were referred to and seen at Pancreas Centre BC completed the EORTC-QLQ C30 and PAN26 questionnaires before and after surgery as well as surveys focused on the levels of satisfaction with their disease management. Using independent samples t-tests, we correlated clinical characteristics with QOL and satisfaction scores. Results: In total, 167 patients were included: median age was 63 years, 45% were men, and 70% were ECOG 0/1. The majority had early stage disease (78%), pancreatic head tumors (53%), adenocarcinoma histology (68%), and adjuvant gemcitabine (75%). Baseline mean QOL scores were 63, 90, 83, 58 and 92 (out of 100) in the overall, physical, emotional, cognitive and social domains, respectively. Advanced age ( > 70 years), weight loss ( > 10 kg), and poor ECOG were independently associated with lower overall QOL rating (all p > 0.05). Surgery had a positive impact on all functional domains where we observed a mean improvement in QOL scores ranging from 8 to 17 points (all p > 0.05). In terms of satisfaction, 94% of patients rated their overall care as good to excellent. Likewise, 80% of patients were very or mostly satisfied with the amount of information they received and 84% of patients rated the healthcare information they received as very or mostly helpful. Conclusions: Despite the morbidity of pancreatic cancer, patients referred to and seen at a tertiary pancreatic cancer center reported good QOL and satisfaction levels, suggesting that the centralization of pancreatic cancer care may be an effective model to address the high priority needs of this population

An Overview of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose R. Murillo ◽  
James E. Cox ◽  
Michael S. Oholendt
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Event ◽  
Peripheral Neuropathy ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Drug Discontinuation ◽  
Neurologic Complication ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Neurological Adverse Event

Peripheral neuropathy remains a major limitation of chemotherapeutic agents used in cancer treatment. This neurologic complication from chemotherapy occurs frequently and can be debilitating. Although difficult to predict, both chemotherapeutic and patient-specific risk factors may contribute to this adverse event. Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may appear acutely after treatment or persist chronically upon drug discontinuation. The taxanes, vinca alkaloids, and immunomodulatory drugs commonly cause peripheral nervous system toxicity. Prompt recognition and evaluation of this neurological adverse event by those who provide care to patients with cancer can prove to have a positive impact on the quality of life of those patients.

scholarly journals Factors Associated to Cancer Related Fatigue: A Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Putu Oka Yuli Nurhesti ◽  
Made Adi Yudari ◽  
Ni Luh Lasiani ◽  
Luh Gede Lisnawati ◽  
Nyoman Mariani
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Cancer Treatments ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Cancer Related Fatigue ◽  
Psychological Pressure ◽  
Pressure Stress

Cancer related fatigue is one of the common problems that occur in patients with cancer. This condition is also experienced by cancer patients who receive chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplantation, or other cancer treatments. Continued of cancer related fatigue can disturb the quality of life of patients so that a good assessment and management of this condition is needed. The purpose of this study is for factors related to fatigue in cancer patients. These factors can be new scientific evidence for the treatment of fatigue in cancer patients. This was literature review study. Research data is collected from books, research results, journals, magazines and articles related to the research objectives. The results show that various factors associated to cancer related fatigue discussed in patients are hemoglobin level, type and amount of therapy, sleep quality, nutritional status, level of physical activity, psychological pressure, stress, infection status and comorbidities. Therapy on fatigue patients can be done by overcoming the causal factors. Index Terms— cancer, cancer related fatigue, factors associated

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