Protocol of a Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial of Bright IDEAS-Young Adults: Problem-Solving Skills Training to Reduce Distress among Young Adults with Cancer.

Background: Young adults with cancer diagnosed between the ages of 18 to 39 are recognized as a vulnerable group with unique emotional, social, and practical needs that put them at risk of poor psychosocial outcomes and impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study describes the protocol of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of Bright IDEAS-Young Adults (Bright IDEAS-YA), a problem-solving skills training intervention, on psychosocial outcomes of young adults newly diagnosed with cancer.

Methods: Bright IDEAS-YA is a two-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial.

Voicing their choices: Advance care planning with adolescents and young adults with cancer and other serious conditions.

Objectives: To determine whether engaging in advance care planning (ACP) using a formal tool, (VMC), would alleviate adolescent and young adults (AYAs) anxiety surrounding ACP and increase social support and communication about end-of-life care preferences with family members and health care providers (HCPs).

Methods: A total of 149 AYAs aged 18-39 years receiving cancer-directed therapy or treatment for another chronic medical illness were enrolled at seven US sites. Baseline data included prior ACP communication with family members and HCPs and measures of generalized anxiety, ACP anxiety, and social support.

Application of a Health Literacy Framework to Explore Patients' Knowledge of the Link between HPV and Cancer.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection and causes most oropharyngeal (e.g., throat) and anogenital (e.

Distinguishing Depressive Symptoms From Similar Cancer-Related Somatic Symptoms: Implications for Assessment and Management of Major Depression after Breast Cancer.

Prevalence rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) following breast cancer diagnosis are estimated to be ~5% to >20%, and these rates range from slightly below to somewhat above the expected prevalence rate for MDD in the general population of women in the United States. Women with a history of MDD are at increased risk for recurrence of MDD after breast cancer and need to be monitored closely. To properly diagnose and treat MDD, healthcare providers must be able to recognize depressive symptoms and distinguish them from similar somatic symptoms that are associated with breast cancer and breast cancer treatment.

Perioperative intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in a patient with severe acquired von Willebrand syndrome: case report and review of the literature.

Acquired von Willebrand syndrome may be related to plasma cell dyscrasia and can cause severe bleeding complications. Treatment, for example, with intravenous immunoglobulins may be indicated in selected cases. Physicians treating plasma cell dyscrasia have to be aware of bleeding complications in these patients, and clarification is necessary.

Supportive care needs of oral cancer survivors: Prevalence and correlates.

Objectives: Many cancer survivors experience unmet supportive care needs. The oral cancer survivor population is growing; however, little is known about the unique needs of this group. The present study aimed to determine the supportive care needs of persons with oral cancer who had completed active treatment at least three months previously.

Psychological effects of androgen-deprivation therapy on men with prostate cancer and their partners.

The clinical benefits of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for men with prostate cancer (PC) have been well documented and include living free from the symptoms of metastases for longer periods and improved quality of life. However, ADT comes with a host of its own serious side effects. There is considerable evidence of the adverse cardiovascular, metabolic, and musculoskeletal effects of ADT.

Patient-reported Outcomes of Acupuncture for Symptom Control in Cancer.

Acupuncture is increasingly offered as a treatment option for managing cancer-related symptoms. In addition to randomized controlled trials, patient-reported outcomes may be needed to establish treatment effectiveness. This study retrospectively examined the symptoms and the satisfaction ratings of 90 patients receiving acupuncture at an integrative oncology clinic.

Phase 2 study of concurrent cetuximab plus definitive thoracic radiation therapy followed by consolidation docetaxel plus cetuximab in poor prognosis or elderly patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Recursive partitioning analysis has shown that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (PS) ≥2, male sex, and age ≥70 years are prognostic of poor outcome in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) patients. Concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) improves survival, but toxicity is a concern in this frail patient cohort. We therefore opened this trial of concurrent definitive thoracic radiation therapy (XRT) and cetuximab, followed by consolidation docetaxel plus cetuximab.

Effects of self-directed stress management training and home-based exercise on quality of life in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Research has shown that self-directed stress management training improves mental well-being in patients undergoing chemotherapy. The present study extends this work by evaluating separate and combined effects of stress management training and home-based exercise.

Method: Following assessment of mental and physical well-being, depression, anxiety, exercise, and stress reduction activity before chemotherapy started, patients were randomized to stress management training (SM), exercise (EX), combined stress management and exercise (SMEX), or usual care only (UCO).

Sexual function in colorectal cancer survivors.

Background: Findings from clinical and research studies suggest that the overall health-related quality of life of many colorectal cancer survivors is good. However, many survivors report significant sexual dysfunction after treatment that may adversely affect their quality of life in survivorship.

Methods: This article examines studies investigating sexual function in men and women treated for colorectal cancer.

Zero-based print journal collection development in a community teaching hospital library: planning for the future.

Objectives: The paper describes and evaluates the success of a zero-based collection development approach to print serials in a community teaching hospital.

Methods: The authors first assessed the environmental factors that would determine future needs of the medical library and its customers. Liaisons to various departments and constituencies were substantially involved in the data-gathering phase.

Training surgeons to do evidence-based surgery: a collaborative approach.

Background: Three of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education general competencies contain specific wording indicating that trainees must learn how to locate, appraise, and integrate the best information from the literature into their patient care practices. What is less clear is how to best translate evidence-based concepts into the workday of the resident, fellow, or attending surgeon. In this article we describe our use of the assignment-based training program we developed to ensure that our trainees can actually do what is required to practice evidence-based operations.