Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2015
ReviewThe psychometric properties of cancer multisymptom assessment instruments: a clinical review.
Various instruments are used to assess both individual and multiple cancer symptoms. We evaluated the psychometric properties of cancer multisymptom assessment instruments. ⋯ The MDASI appeared to be the best overall from a psychometric perspective. This was followed by the ESAS, ESAS-Spanish, POMS, SDS, and some MDASI translations. VRS-based instruments were most common. There was a wide range of psychometric rigor in validation. Consequently, meta-analysis was not possible. Most cancer multisymptom assessment instruments need further extensive validation to establish the excellent reliability and validity required for clinical utility and meaningful research.
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2015
Stopping paclitaxel premedication after two doses in patients not experiencing a previous infusion hypersensitivity reaction.
Paclitaxel-based chemotherapy continues to be an integral component of breast cancer treatment. Prolonged use of paclitaxel may result in repeated doses of premedications that can have unwanted side effects. Infusion hypersensitivity reactions occurring beyond the second dose of paclitaxel are infrequent and not well characterized. We previously published the results of a small, prospective pilot trial demonstrating the safety and feasibility of discontinuing premedications in patients who received the first two doses of paclitaxel-based chemotherapy without experiencing an infusion hypersensitivity reaction. In this study, we aimed to retrospectively characterize the incidence of rescue medication using this abbreviated premedication regimen in our institution following the publication of the pilot study. ⋯ Discontinuation of paclitaxel premedications in breast cancer patients who have not experienced an infusion hypersensitivity reaction with the first two doses of paclitaxel is not associated with increased rate of rescue medication use for infusion hypersensitivity.
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2015
Opioid-taking self-efficacy affects the quality of life of Taiwanese patients with cancer pain.
Quality of life is an important indicator for evaluating the outcome of treatment for patients with cancer pain. Perceived self-efficacy has been reported to play an important role in controlling quality of life (QOL). Limited studies have focused on opioid-taking self-efficacy effects on the patients' QOL, which is caused by cancer pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how much of the variance in QOL among Taiwanese cancer patients with pain could be accounted for by opioid-taking self-efficacy. ⋯ This study highlights the potential importance of a patient's opioid-taking self-efficacy beliefs in their quality of life, which is relevant to cancer pain.
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Palliative care program structure is important to integrating palliative services into cancer care. A first step in understanding the structure of palliative care programs is to survey existing programs. ⋯ This study not only differs in some respects to a previous survey of palliative care programs but also confirms the late referral of patients to palliative care.
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyImproved patient functioning after treatment of breakthrough cancer pain: an open-label study of fentanyl buccal tablet in patients with cancer pain.
This open-label study evaluated the effects of fentanyl buccal tablet (FBT) on functioning and mood in cancer patients with breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP). ⋯ FBT may improve patient functioning, mood, and overall satisfaction in the management of BTcP. Long-term data did not indicate new safety concerns with FBT doses up to 800 μg.