Background: Optimal therapy following breast-conserving surgery in older adults with low-risk, early-stage breast cancer remains uncertain. The EUROPA trial aims to compare the effects of radiotherapy and endocrine therapy as single-modality treatments on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and ipsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR) outcomes in this population.
Methods: This non-inferiority, phase 3, randomised study was conducted at 18 academic hospitals across Italy (17 centres) and Slovenia (one centre).
Objective: Shared decision making is important when decisions are preference sensitive, as in incurable cancer. A prerequisite for shared decision making is health literacy, which is essential to facilitate good understanding of an individual's current situation, the decision to be made, and the options available to them. This study sought to learn about the challenges for shared decision making faced by patients with incurable cancer and health literacy difficulties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the effect of time waiting for admission to inpatient neurorehabilitation following acquired brain injury on rehabilitation outcomes.
Design: A retrospective observational case series.
Setting: A specialist brain injury inpatient rehabilitation service.
Aim: Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients need CRC-specific dietary guidance, but often lack access to adequate nutritional information and support. This scoping review identified study interventions, online resources, which have been produced to support nutritional care self-management for CRC patients from diagnosis, through treatment and into survivorship and guidelines to underpin these.
Methods: The review was carried out in accordance with the JBI method for Scoping Reviews.
Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to better understand access to, acceptance of and adherence to cancer prehabilitation.
Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, ProQuest Medical Library, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and grey literature were systematically searched for quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies published in English between January 2017 and June 2023. Screening, data extraction and critical appraisal were conducted by two reviewers independently using Covidence™ systematic review software.
Objectives: The objective was to map the experiences and needs of patients presenting with symptoms of suspected cancer in the primary care interval (from when they first present to primary care to their first appointment or referral to a secondary or tertiary level healthcare facility).
Design: This was a scoping review.
Inclusion Criteria: Studies or reports written in English which included primary data on the primary care interval experiences and/or needs of adult patients presenting with new symptoms of suspected cancer were eligible.
Background: The androgen receptor is a tumour suppressor in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. The activity and safety of enobosarm, an oral selective androgen receptor modulator, was evaluated in women with oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative, and androgen receptor (AR)-positive disease.
Methods: Women who were postmenopausal (aged ≥18 years) with previously treated ER-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2 were enrolled in a randomised, open-label, multicentre, multinational, parallel design, phase 2 trial done at 35 cancer treatment centres in nine countries.
Background: The LOw RISk DCIS (LORIS) study was set up to compare conventional surgical treatment with active monitoring in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Recruitment to trials with a surveillance arm is known to be challenging, so strategies to maximise patient recruitment, aimed at both patients and recruiting centres, were implemented.
Methods: Women aged ≥ 46 years with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of non-high-grade DCIS were eligible for 1:1 randomisation to either surgery or active monitoring.
J Hum Nutr Diet
February 2024
Background: Nutritional status is compromised long-term following oesophagectomy. Controversy surrounds the optimal route for nutrition support postoperatively and there is wide variation in the use of feeding jejunostomy tubes.
Methods: A retrospective service evaluation was conducted for all consecutive adults who underwent oesophagectomy for a cancer diagnosis within a specialist centre between April 2016 and July 2019 (n = 165).
Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener
June 2023
: To develop and pilot a web-based patient decision aid (PDA) to support people living with motor neurone disease (plwMND) considering having a gastrostomy tube placed. : In Phase 1, content and design were informed by semi-structured interviews, literature reviews and a prioritization survey. In Phase 2, the prototype PDA was tested with users and developed iteratively with feedback from surveys and 'think-aloud' interviews.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) is among the most widely used patient-reported outcome measures in cancer research and practice. It was developed prior to guidance that content should be established directly from patients to confirm it measures concepts of interest and is appropriate and comprehensive for the intended population. This study evaluated the content validity of the QLQ-C30 for use with cancer patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The present study aims to summarise current knowledge and identify gaps in knowledge and research regarding experience, decision-making and information needs around parenteral nutrition, among people with advanced cancer, and their carers.
Methods: This review was informed by previous methods and guidance on conducting and reporting scoping reviews. A literature search was conducted in March 2021 using Embase, Medline, CINAHL, Google and Web of Science to identify studies that examined the experience, decision-making process and information needs of adults with advanced cancer, and their carers, who were making decisions around commencing and discontinuing parenteral nutrition.
Objective: Personalised care requires the identification of modifiable risk factors so that interventions can be implemented rapidly following a gynaecological cancer diagnosis. Our objective was to determine what pre-treatment factors are associated with quality of life (QOL) at baseline (pre-treatment) and 12 months.
Methods: 1222 women with a confirmed diagnosis of endometrial, ovarian, cervical or vulvar cancer from 82 UK NHS hospitals agreed to complete questionnaires at baseline, three and 12 months.
Background: We aimed to create a questionnaire to assess the health-related quality of life including functioning, symptoms, and general health status of adult patients with current or previous COVID-19. Here, we report on Phase I and II of the development.
Methods: Internationally recognized methodology for questionnaire development was followed.
Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer face many challenges and need a good understanding of their diagnosis and proposed treatments to make informed decisions about their care. Health literacy plays an important role in this and low health literacy has been associated with poorer outcomes. The aims of this review are to identify which outcomes relate to health literacy in patients with cancer, and to combine this through a mixed studies approach with the patient experience as described through qualitative studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Depression experienced by people with colorectal cancer (CRC) is an important clinical problem affecting quality of life. Recognition of depression at key points in the pathway enables timely referral to support. This study aimed to examine depression before and 5 years after surgery to examine its prevalence and identify determinants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Nutrition is associated with aetiology and impacts outcomes in colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to explore nutritional symptoms and concerns of patients with CRC and CRC dietetic resource across the UK.
Methods: Study 1 is a descriptive analysis of nutrition-related measures in the ColoRectal Wellbeing (CREW) study, a prospective 5-year longitudinal cohort study of a representative sample of 872 adults with non-metastatic CRC.
Purpose: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life-Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) is a widely used generic self-report measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for cancer patients. However, no validated voice script for interviewer-led telephone administration was previously available. The aim of this study was to develop a voice script for interviewer administration via telephone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This systematic review was performed to identify all relevant health-related quality of life (HRQoL) issues associated with COVID-19.
Methods: A systematic literature search was undertaken in April 2020. In four teams of three reviewers each, all abstracts were independently reviewed for inclusion by two reviewers.
Background: Targeted therapies (TTs) have revolutionised cancer treatment with their enhanced specificity of action. Compared with conventional therapies, TTs are delivered over a longer period and often have unusual symptom profiles. Patient-reported outcome measures such as symptom side-effect lists need to be developed in a time-efficient manner to enable a rapid and full evaluation of new treatments and effective clinical management OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop a set of TT-related symptoms and identify the optimal method for developing symptom lists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The ColoREctal Wellbeing (CREW) study is the first study to prospectively recruit colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, carry out the baseline assessment pre-treatment and follow patients up over five years to delineate the impact of treatment on health and wellbeing.
Methods: CRC patients received questionnaires at baseline (pre-surgery), 3, 9, 15, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. The primary outcome was Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors (QLACS); self-efficacy, mental health, social support, affect, socio-demographics, clinical and treatment characteristics were also assessed.
Introduction: Motor neuron disease (MND) is a progressive, incurable disease, characterised by degeneration of the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Due to the multisystem effects of the disease, patients are faced with many complex, time-sensitive decisions, one of which is the decision on gastrostomy feeding. There are currently no published decision aids (DAs) to support patients making this decision in the UK.
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