Following patient pathways to psycho-oncological treatment: Identification of treatment needs by clinical staff and electronic screening.

Objective: In this retrospective investigation of patient pathways to psycho-oncological treatment (POT), we compared the number of POT referrals before and after implementation of electronic screening for POT needs and investigated psychosocial predictors for POT wish at a nuclear medicine department.

Methods: We extracted medical chart information about number of referrals and extent of follow-up contacts. During standard referral (November 2014 to October 2015), POT needs were identified by clinical staff only.

Health Behavior and Quality of Life Outcome in Breast Cancer Survivors: Prevalence Rates and Predictors.

Purpose: Health behavior (HB) has been identified as contributing to breast cancer (BC) disease outcome. The present study was subjected to gain more in-depth insight into breast cancer survivors' (BCS) HB and its associations with patient quality of life (QOL) outcome. We investigated HB focusing on eating disturbances comparing the latter with a reference population sample (PS).

Self-reported sexual health: Breast cancer survivors compared to women from the general population - an observational study.

Background: Cancer survivorship is of increasing importance in post-treatment care. Sexual health (SH) and femininity can be crucial issues for women surviving cancer. We aimed to determine a more complete understanding of the contribution that a breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and its treatment exert on patients' follow-up SH.

Can we use gonadotropin plasma concentration as surrogate marker for BMI-related incomplete estrogen suppression in breast cancer patients receiving anastrozole?

Background: BMI has been suggested to impact on estrogenic activity in patients receiving anastrozole resulting in a reduced treatment efficacy in obese women. Current evidence in this regard is controversially discussed. Since estradiol is inversely correlated with gonadotropins it can be assumed that an impact of BMI is also reflected by gonadotropin plasma concentrations.

Psychosocial outcomes and counselee satisfaction following genetic counseling for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: A patient-reported outcome study.

Objective: We investigated the psychosocial consequences of genetic counseling and testing (GCT) for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) at follow-up in a "real-life" sample of counselees at an Austrian tertiary care center.

Methods: The study cohort included counselees who had undergone genetic counseling for HBOC and completed a follow-up self-report questionnaire battery on psychosocial outcomes (quality of life, psychological distress, satisfaction with counseling and decisions). For comparison of distress, we recruited a reference sample of breast cancer survivors (BCS; n=665) who had not requested GCT in the same setting.

[Patients, physicians and nursing personnel in intensive care units: Psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions].

During intensive care treatment patients suffer from various forms of stress. Certain psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions (e. g.

Levels in neurotransmitter precursor amino acids correlate with mental health in patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among females. Approximately 30% of cancer patients develop depression or depressive adaptation disorder within 5 years post diagnosis. Low grade inflammation and subsequent changes in neurotransmitter levels could be the pathophysiological link.

Does obesity interfere with anastrozole treatment? Positive association between body mass index and anastrozole plasma levels.

Introduction: The efficacy of adjuvant endocrine treatment with aromatase inhibitors (AIs), inhibiting the conversion of androgens to estrogen in adipose tissue, might depend on the overall volume of adipose tissue. However, little evidence is available regarding the pharmacokinetic behavior of AIs in women with obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between body mass index (BMI) and anastrozole treatment as well as estrogenic activity.

The EORTC emotional functioning computerized adaptive test: phases I-III of a cross-cultural item bank development.

Background: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group is currently developing computerized adaptive testing measures for the Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30) scales. The work presented here describes the development of an EORTC item bank for emotional functioning (EF), which is one of the core domains of the QLQ-C30.

Methods: According to the EORTC guidelines on module development, the development of the EF item bank comprised four phases, of which the phases I-III are reported in the present paper.

Quality of life during chemotherapy in lung cancer patients: results across different treatment lines.

Background: Most lung cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced disease stage and predominantly receive palliative treatment, which increasingly consists of several chemotherapy lines. We report on patients' quality of life (QOL) to gain knowledge on QOL during and across multiple lines of chemotherapy. This includes patients with (neo)adjuvant therapy up to 3rd or above line palliative chemotherapy.

Adherence evaluation of endocrine treatment in breast cancer: methodological aspects.

Background: Current studies on adherence to endocrine therapy in breast cancer patients suffer from methodological limitations due to a lack of well-validated methods for assessing adherence. There is no gold standard for measuring adherence. The aim of our study was to compare four different approaches for evaluating adherence to anastrozole therapy for breast cancer with regard to concordance between methods.

Monitoring physical and psychosocial symptom trajectories in ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Background: Diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer (OC) entail severe symptom burden and a significant loss of quality of life (QOL). Somatic and psychological impairments may persist well beyond active therapy. Although essential for optimal symptom management as well as for the interpretation of treatment outcomes, knowledge on the course of QOL-related issues is scarce.

CYP2D6 genotyping in breast cancer patients by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

The application of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) genotyping to allow a personalized treatment approach for breast cancer patients undergoing endocrine therapy has been repeatedly discussed. However, the actual clinical relevance of the CYP2D6 genotype in the endocrine treatment of breast cancer still remains to be elucidated. A major prerequisite for the successful and valid evaluation of the CYP2D6 genotype with regard to its pharmacokinetic and clinical relevance is the availability of a comprehensive, accurate and cost-effective CYP2D6 genotyping strategy.

Is the toxicity of adjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy underestimated? Complementary information from patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Adjuvant endocrine treatment-related adverse effects have a strong impact on patients' quality of life and thereby limit therapy's risk benefit ratio resulting in morbidity and treatment discontinuation. Still, many AI adverse effects remain untreated given that they are unrecognized by conservative methods (e.g.

Enhanced tryptophan degradation in patients with ovarian carcinoma correlates with several serum soluble immune activation markers.

Tryptophan-degrading enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) represents an antimicrobial and antitumoral immune effector mechanism, but IDO also suppresses T-cell responses and thus can cause immune system failure. Therefore, IDO was proposed as an immunoescape mechanism of tumor cells. Compared to healthy controls, accelerated tryptophan degradation was observed in the blood of 20 patients with ovarian carcinoma as is reflected by an increased kynurenine to tryptophan ratio (kyn/trp) which allows an estimate of IDO activity.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of tamoxifen, anastrozole, and letrozole in human plasma and its application to a clinical study.

There is substantial evidence that circulating estrogens promote the proliferation of breast cancer. Consequently, adjuvant hormonal treatment strategies targeting estrogen action have been established. Such hormonal therapies include selective estrogen receptor modulators, such as tamoxifen, which interfere at the estrogen receptors directly, or non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors, such as anastrozole and letrozole, which inhibit estrogen synthesis through blocking the aromatase, a key enzyme of estrogen production.

Development of a screening tool for the identification of psychooncological treatment need in breast cancer patients.

Objective: In breast cancer patients the diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of the physical disease cause a large amount of psychosocial distress, which can have a variety of negative consequences on patients' physical and mental well-being. Although about one-third of the patients show heightened psychosocial distress that may require psychooncological interventions its detection in daily clinical routine is poor and referral to mental health professionals is insufficient. The aim of the study was to develop a short screening tool for the detection of need for psychooncological treatment (POT) in breast cancer patients.

Towards the Implementation of Quality of Life Monitoring in Daily Clinical Routine: Methodological Issues and Clinical Implication.

Quality of life (QOL) has become a widely used outcome parameter in the evaluation of treatment modalities in clinical oncology research. By now, many of the practical problems associated with measuring QOL in clinical practice can be overcome by the use of computer-based assessment methods. QOL assessment in oncology is dominated by two measurement systems, the FACT scales and the EORTC QLQ-C30 with its modules.

Quality of life in adult hematopoietic cell transplant patients at least 5 yr after treatment: a comparison with healthy controls.

Background And Objective: As long-term survivors of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) become more numerous, studies addressing the issue of long-term follow-up are necessary. In this study, we report on the quality of life (QOL) of HCT-patients, who were alive at least at 5 yr after transplantation in comparison to an age- and sex-matched sample of healthy controls assessed in the same time-period and the same geographical region.

Design And Methods: The European Group of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-QOL Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ C30) was sent by post to 39 HCT-survivors.

Normative data for functional assessment of cancer therapy--general scale and its use for the interpretation of quality of life scores in cancer survivors.

The aims of this study were to derive population-based reference values for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale-General (FACT-G) and to investigate the impact of sociodemographic variables (e.g. age, sex, health status) on these quality of life (QOL) scores, and to compare the normative QOL scores with those of various groups of cancer survivors.

Fatigue in ovarian carcinoma patients: a neglected issue?

Background: Although fatigue is a commonly reported symptom in cancer patients it is rarely investigated, especially in patients with ovarian carcinoma. The main focus of the current study was to assess fatigue in these patients and to investigate the impact of fatigue and other clinical and psychosocial variables on their quality of life (QOL).

Methods: Ninety-eight ovarian carcinoma survivors (average age of 57.