Journal of palliative medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The role of thalidomide and placebo for the treatment of cancer-related anorexia-cachexia symptoms: results of a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study.
To determine the effects of thalidomide and placebo on anorexia-cachexia and its related symptoms, body composition, resting metabolic rate, and serum cytokines and their receptors in patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ Based on the poor accrual rate and attrition observed in this study, it is important that future research on thalidomide as a treatment for cancer-related anorexia-cachexia symptoms (ACS) in patients with advanced cancer use less stringent entry criteria and less exhaustive outcome measures.
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Treatment decision-making may be hindered by a lack of knowledge about the care options of curative, palliative, and hospice care. Our purpose was to create and validate an instrument to measure knowledge of these care options, the Knowledge of Care Options (KOCO) instrument. ⋯ KOCO is a brief, acceptable instrument capable of assessing knowledge of curative, palliative, and hospice care. Additional testing is needed with larger samples to assess the utility of KOCO for use with various patient populations, family caregivers, and clinicians.
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The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes of cancer patients, their family, and community members in Albania, a post-communist country in Southeast Europe, regarding breaking bad news. ⋯ This survey identified important characteristics of cancer patients, their relatives, and a community-based sample in Albania that could predict the willingness to disclose a fatal diagnosis. Establishment of a formal training of health professionals regarding breaking bad news should be considered in order to ensure a proper approach of communicating diagnosis to cancer patients in transitional Albania.