Cancer
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The 45-item Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) questionnaire assesses health-related quality of life in patients with liver, bile duct, and pancreatic cancers. Although the FACT-Hep was initially derived from patient input, this study's researchers sought to verify adequate coverage of items by soliciting open-ended input from patients with advanced disease. ⋯ The NFHSI-18 assesses symptoms of importance to patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers and demonstrates promising measurement properties. The scale is a good candidate for brief symptom assessment in clinical trials.
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Inflammation may underlie cancer-related fatigue; however, there are no studies that assess the relation between fatigue and cytokines in patients with advanced disease versus patients without disease activity. Furthermore, the relation between cytokines and the separate dimensions of fatigue is unknown. Here, association of plasma levels of inflammatory markers with physical fatigue and mental fatigue was explored in advanced cancer patients and cancer survivors. ⋯ In advanced cancer, inflammation seems to be associated with physical fatigue, but not to mental fatigue. In cancer survivors, there was no convincing evidence that inflammation plays a major role in fatigue.
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The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is unknown but is thought to be associated with immune abnormalities or infection. Because cancer can arise from similar conditions, associations between CFS and cancer were examined in a population-based case-control study among the US elderly. ⋯ Chronic immune activation or an infection associated with CFS may play a role in explaining the increased risk of NHL.
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Experience with preoperative therapy for other cancers has led to an assumption that borderline resectable pancreatic cancers can be converted to resectable cancers with preoperative therapy. In this study, the authors sought to determine the rate at which neoadjuvant therapy is associated with a reduction in the size or stage of borderline resectable tumors. ⋯ Radiographic downstaging was rare after neoadjuvant therapy, and RECIST response was not an effective treatment endpoint for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. The authors concluded that these patients should undergo pancreatectomy after initial therapy in the absence of metastases.
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Procalcitonin (PCT) has been proposed as a marker of infection and was studied in neutropenic patients. This study investigated its role in non-neutropenic febrile cancer patients (NNCPs). ⋯ Baseline PCT levels are predictive of BSI and sepsis in NNCPs. They may be predictors of metastasis and advanced cancer. Subsequent decrease in PCT levels in response to antibiotics is suggestive of bacterial infection. Larger trials are needed to confirm the results of this pilot study.