The performance of abbreviated comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

Purpose: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one of the most common and aggressive forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the abbreviated Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (aCGA) in assessing frailty and predicting clinical outcomes in elderly patients with DLBCL.

Methods: A total of 91 patients aged ≥ 65 years with newly diagnosed DLBCL and who received immunochemotherapy at a single medical center in Taiwan between August 2019 and December 2022 were prospectively enrolled.

Patient-caregiver concordance on death preparedness over Taiwanese cancer patients' last 6 months.

Background: Worldwide patient-caregiver concordance on cognitive prognostic awareness (PA) has been extensively examined, but concordance on sufficient (ie, cognitive and emotional) death preparedness is unexplored. We comprehensively examine the evolution of patient-caregiver concordance on death preparedness over the patient's last 6 months.

Materials/methods: This study re-examined data from 2 cohort studies on 694 dyads of cancer patients and their caregivers recruited from a single medical center in Taiwan.

Development and validation of the Taiwan Cancer Frailty Tool for older patients with cancer: A prospective longitudinal study.

Introduction: The increasing occurrence of cancer in Taiwan's older population highlights the need for a culturally attuned frailty assessment tool. This study aimed to develop and validate a frailty screening instrument specifically designed for older Taiwanese patients with cancer to predict survival outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Patients aged ≥65 years newly diagnosed with cancer before treatment initiation at three Hospitals in Taiwan were prospectively included from July 2018 to December 2020 to participate in the study.

Bereaved Family Quality of Life Varies With Comorbid Psychological Distress and ICU-Care Quality.

Context: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is highly endorsed, but HRQOL studies scarcely investigate the following: ICU family members; modifiable end-of-life (EOL) ICU-care factors; conjoint associations with prolonged grief disorder (PGD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression; and long-term bereavement outcomes.

Objectives: Exploratorily investigate associations of PGD-PTSD-depressive-symptom states (resilient, subthreshold-depression dominant, PGD dominant, and PGD-PTSD-depression comorbid) and quality of EOL ICU care with families' HRQOL 6-24 months post loss.

Methods: This cohort study examined symptoms of PGD (11 items of the PG-13), PTSD (Impact of Event Scale-Revised), and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and HRQOL (Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey) among 303 ICU family members.

The protective role of anti-parkinsonian drugs in pancreatic cancer risk: A comprehensive case-control study in Taiwan.

Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest cancers, with a grim prognosis despite advances in treatment. We conducted a population-based case-control study from Taiwan, linking Health and Welfare Data Science Center data to the Taiwan Cancer Registry, which offers a promising strategy for its treatment through drug repurposing. The study aims to identify the association of anti-parkinsonian drugs with pancreatic cancer risk across different age groups.

Real-world effectiveness and prognostic factors of durvalumab plus chemotherapy in a multicentric cohort with advanced biliary tract cancer.

Background: Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is an aggressive biliary tract cancer, arising from the bile ducts and gallbladder, with a poor prognosis. The TOPAZ-1 trial of durvalumab plus first-line chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) showed improved survival vs chemotherapy alone. This real-world study aimed to confirm the effectiveness of this regimen.

Factors of prolonged-grief-disorder symptom trajectories for ICU bereaved family surrogates.

Background: Bereaved people experience distinct trajectories of prolonged-grief-disorder (PGD) symptoms. A few studies from outside critical care investigated limited factors of PGD-symptom trajectories without a theoretical framework. We aimed to characterize factors associated with ICU bereaved surrogates' PGD-symptom trajectories, drawing from the integrative framework of predictors for bereavement outcomes, emphasizing factors modifiable by ICU care.

Predictors of ICU Surrogates' States of Concurrent Prolonged Grief, Posttraumatic Stress, and Depression Symptoms.

Objectives: Scarce research explores factors of concurrent psychologic distress (prolonged grief disorder [PGD], posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], and depression). This study models surrogates' longitudinal, heterogenous grief-related reactions and multidimensional risk factors drawing from the integrative framework of predictors for bereavement outcomes (intrapersonal, interpersonal, bereavement-related, and death-circumstance factors), emphasizing clinical modifiability.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Efficacy of first-line combination therapies versus gemcitabine monotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Various first-line gemcitabine-based or fluorouracil-based combination regimens were approved in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Recent randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have investigated chemotherapy backbones in combination with novel investigational drugs, including chemotherapy agents or targeted drugs. However, the comparative efficacy of these different combination therapies remains limited.

Factors Associated With Quality-of-Dying-and-Death Classes Among Critically Ill Patients.

Importance: Improving end-of-life care in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a priority, but clinically modifiable factors of quality of dying and death (QODD) are seldom identified.

Objectives: To comprehensively identify factors associated with QODD classes of dying ICU patients, emphasizing clinically modifiable factors based on the integrative framework of factors associated with for bereavement outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This observational cohort study was conducted at medical ICUs of 2 Taiwanese medical centers from January 2018 to March 2020 with follow-up through December 2022.

Evaluating the cancer aging and research group model in predicting immunochemotherapy toxicity among elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Background: The management of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in elderly patients is complicated by an increased risk of treatment-related toxicity associated with aging. This study aimed to validate the effectiveness of the Cancer Aging and Research Group (CARG) model in elderly patients with DLBCL receiving rituximab-based chemotherapy.

Methods: In this prospective study, elderly DLBCL patients (aged 65 years or older) receiving rituximab-based chemotherapy were consecutively assessed between August 2016 and December 2021 at one medical center in Taiwan using the CARG model to predict treatment-related toxicity.

Serum Cytokines Correlate with Pretreatment Body Mass Index-adjusted Body Weight Loss Grading and Cancer Progression in Patients with Stage III Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Followed by Surgery.

Serum Cytokines Correlate with Pretreatment Body Mass Index-Adjusted Body Weight Loss Grading and Cancer Progression in Patients with Stage III Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Followed by Surgery. Circulating cytokines have been linked to the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its associated malnutrition process. Nonetheless, given the varied disease stages and treatment modalities in previous studies, the clinical relevance of their findings is limited.

Clinical characteristics and genetic HLA marker for patients with oxaliplatin-induced adverse drug reactions.

Background: Oxaliplatin is commonly used to treat gastrointestinal malignancies. However, its applications are limited due to potential adverse drug reactions (ADRs), particularly severe anaphylactic shock. There is no method to predict or prevent ADRs caused by oxaliplatin.

Impact of previous S-1 treatment on efficacy of liposomal irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Background/objectives: Liposomal irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV) provides survival benefits for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) refractory to gemcitabine-based treatment, mainly gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GA), in current practice. Gemcitabine plus S-1 (GS) is another commonly administered first-line regimen before nab-paclitaxel reimbursement; however, the efficacy and safety of nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV for mPDAC after failed GS treatment has not been reported and was therefore explored in this study.

Methods: In total, 177 patients with mPDAC received first-line GS or GA treatment, followed by second-line nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV treatment (identified from a multicenter retrospective cohort in Taiwan from 2018 to 2020); 85 and 92 patients were allocated to the GS and GA groups, respectively.

Impact of pretreatment quality of life on tolerance and survival outcome in head and neck cancer patients undergoing definitive CCRT.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a predictor of treatment outcomes in cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pretreatment HRQoL on treatment tolerance and survival outcomes in patients with HNC planned for concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in Taiwan.

Methods: This study included 461 patients with HNC planned for definitive CCRT at three medical centers in Taiwan between August 2017 and December 2018.

Associations Between Family-Assessed Quality-of-Dying-and-Death Latent Classes and Bereavement Outcomes for Family Surrogates of ICU Decedents.

Objectives: To examine associations between family surrogates' bereavement outcomes and four previously determined quality of dying and death (QODD) latent classes (high, moderate, poor-to-uncertain, and worst).

Design: Prospective, longitudinal, observational study.

Setting: Medical ICUs at two academically affiliated medical centers in Taiwan.

Factors of preparedness for loss from cancer among Taiwanese family caregivers.

This cohort study investigated factors associated with 336 Taiwanese family caregivers' emotional and cognitive preparedness for death of a loved one with terminal cancer. Caregivers' death-preparedness states (no-death-preparedness [as reference], cognitive-death-preparedness-only, emotional-death-preparedness-only, and sufficient-death-preparedness states) were previously identified. Associations of factors with these states were determined by a hierarchical generalized linear model.

Frailty is an independent factor for health-related quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer receiving definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with treatment-related complications and poor survival in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). We investigated the effects of frailty on HRQoL in patients with HNC receiving definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).

Methods: A total of 461 consecutive patients with locally advanced HNC who received CCRT between 2017 and 2018 at three medical centers in Taiwan were included.

All-cause and immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated acute kidney injury in immune checkpoint inhibitor users: a meta-analysis of occurrence rate, risk factors and mortality.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the occurrence rate of ICI-related AKI has not been systematically examined. Additionally, exposure to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were considered as risk factors for AKI, but with inconclusive results in ICI-related AKI.

Integrating Frailty Assessment to Enhance Care in Cancer Patients with Borderline Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status.

Background: The (ECOG) performance status (PS) is commonly used to evaluate the functional ability of patients undergoing antitumor therapy. An ECOG PS of 2, indicating patients capable of self-care but restricted strenuous activity, can complicate treatment decisions owing to concerns regarding treatment-related toxicity. We investigated whether frailty assessment could help discriminate treatment tolerance and survival outcomes in patients with an ECOG PS of 2.

Systemic treatments in pancreatic cancer: Taiwan pancreas society recommendation.

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Over the past decade, significant therapeutic advancements have improved the survival rates of patients with pancreatic cancer. One of the primary factors contributing to these positive outcomes is the evolution of chemotherapy, from monotherapy to doublet or triplet regimens, and the integration of multimodal approaches.

Factors Associated With Family Surrogate Decisional-Regret Trajectories.

Context/objectives: The scarce research on factors associated with surrogate decisional regret overlooks longitudinal, heterogenous decisional-regret experiences and fractionally examines factors from the three decision-process framework stages: decision antecedents, decision-making process, and decision outcomes. This study aimed to fill these knowledge gaps by focusing on factors modifiable by high-quality end-of-life (EOL) care.

Methods: This observational study used a prior cohort of 377 family surrogates of terminal-cancer patients to examine factors associated with their membership in the four preidentified distinct decisional-regret trajectories: resilient, delayed-recovery, late-emerging, and increasing-prolonged trajectories from EOL-care decision making through the first two bereavement years by multinomial logistic regression modeling using the resilient trajectory as reference.