Cancer
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Impact of coping skills intervention with family caregivers of hospice patients with cancer: a randomized clinical trial.
Family caregivers for cancer patients experience high levels of stress and burden and diminished quality of life (QOL). Interventions to improve coping skills of caregivers have been shown to be effective with other populations, but their impact has not been assessed in the difficult context of hospice care. The purpose of this study was to determine whether hospice plus a coping skill training intervention improved family caregivers' QOL, burden, coping, and mastery, compared with hospice plus emotional support, and usual hospice care. ⋯ The coping skills intervention was effective in improving caregiver QOL, reducing burden related to patients' symptoms, and caregiving tasks compared with hospice care alone or hospice plus emotional support. Structured caregiver skill-training interventions for caregivers are promising even in the difficult environment of end-of-life care and for families already receiving benefits of hospice care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Four versus six courses of a dose-escalated cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) regimen plus etoposide (megaCHOEP) and autologous stem cell transplantation: early dose intensity is crucial in treating younger patients with poor prognosis aggressive lymphoma.
Patients with aggressive lymphoma and high-risk features at the time of diagnosis are reported to have a poor prognosis with standard therapy. Attempts to improve the results achieved with the combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) using second-generation or third-generation chemotherapy have failed. In the current study, the authors increased the doses and dose intensity of drugs used for the conventional first-line therapy of aggressive lymphoma and designed a Phase II randomized trial that compared four and six courses of dose-escalated CHOP plus etoposide (megaCHOEP) supported by the transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells. ⋯ The results of the current study demonstrate that dose intensity, in particular early dose intensity, significantly influences disease control with high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous stem cell transplantation. These results also may explain the failure of HDT with low early dose intensity to improve the results obtained with conventional chemotherapy.