A randomised assessment of the use of a quality of life questionnaire with or without intervention in patients attending a thoracic cancer clinic.

The study examined the impact of using a quality of life (QoL) questionnaire during a clinic to identify QoL issues and to improve QoL. 138 patients were randomised (1:1:1) to either (1) an Intervention group that completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Core Quality of Life Questionnaire and Lung Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-C30 and LC13) at baseline and received feedback during a clinic, (2) an Attention group that completed the questionnaire at baseline without feedback and (3) a Control group that did not complete the questionnaire. All patients completed the same questionnaire 6 weeks later and a contact diary during the study period.

A serum mesothelin level is a prognostic indicator for patients with malignant mesothelioma in routine clinical practice.

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) carries a poor prognosis and response rates to palliative chemotherapy remain low. Identifying patients with MM that are unlikely to respond to chemotherapy could prevent futile treatments and improve patient quality of life. Studies have suggested that soluble mesothelin is a potential biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis of MM.

A pilot study of a novel home telemonitoring system for oncology patients receiving chemotherapy.

We examined the accuracy and acceptability of a home telemonitoring system for patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients undergoing two cycles of chemotherapy (over six weeks) used the telemonitoring system to analyse their own blood (capillary) and to enter symptom and temperature data. The blood results obtained from self-testing were compared with those from a venous blood sample analysed in the hospital laboratory analyser (the gold standard).