Background: Advanced cancer patients often experience multiple concurrent symptoms, which can have prognostic effects on patients' quality of life. Including patients who did not experience all of the symptoms measured by an assessment tool may interfere with accurate symptom cluster identification. Varying statistical methods may also contribute to inconsistencies of cluster results.
Aims: To compare symptom clusters in a subgroup of patients reporting exclusively non-zero ESAS scores with those in the total patient sample. To examine whether using different statistical methods results in varied symptom clusters.
Design: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) were performed on the 'non-zero' subgroup and the total patient sample to identify symptom clusters at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 following palliative radiotherapy.
Setting/participants: A previous single-centre study used Principal Component Analysis to explore symptom clusters in 1296 advanced cancer patients. The present study analyzed this previously reported data set.
Results: Notably different symptom clusters were extracted between the two patient groups regardless of the statistical method at baseline, with the exception of a cluster composed of drowsiness, fatigue and dyspnea using Principal Component Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. At follow-ups, different statistical methods yielded significantly varied symptom clusters. Only anxiety, depression and well-being consistently occurred in the same cluster across methods and over time.
Conclusions: The composition of symptom clusters varied depending on if patients with non-zero scores were excluded at baseline and on the statistical method employed. Identifying valid clusters may prove useful for bettering symptom diagnosis and management for cancer patients.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269216311420197 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The Impairment Argument's Coup de Grâce.
Bioethics
January 2025
Department of Philosophy, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
According to Hendricks Impairment Argument (IA), abortion is immoral because it impairs the fetus. Here, I argue it is not sufficient to show merely that abortion impairs, Hendricks must show that it harms the fetus. If the fetus is not numerically identical to the person it will become, then it isn't harmed by an abortion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLongitudinal monitoring of class-switched memory-B cell proportions identifies plausible germinal center failure in patients with suspected immune disorders.
Cytometry B Clin Cytom
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Section of Allergy and Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
A reduced proportion of peripheral class-switched memory B cells (CSM-B cells) is presumed to indicate ineffective germinal activity. The extent that this finding corresponds to a plausible germinal center failure pathophysiology in patients not diagnosed with CVID or hyper IgM syndrome is not known. We asked if patients with low CSM-B cells are more likely to demonstrate failure to produce serum IgA and IgG than counterparts with nonreduced class-switched memory B cell levels, regardless of diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReview article: Efficacy of cyproheptadine in the management of serotonin toxicity following deliberate self-poisoning - A systematic review.
Emerg Med Australas
February 2025
Addiction Psychiatry and Toxicology, Northern Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Serotonin toxicity is a potentially fatal condition caused by increased serotonergic activity in the central nervous system. Cyproheptadine, a serotonergic antagonist, is recommended for treatment; however, there is a lack of evidence to support its use. The present study aimed to evaluate the evidence for the use of cyproheptadine in the management of serotonin toxicity following deliberate self-poisoning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterlinking the Cross Talk on Branched Chain Amino Acids, Water Soluble Vitamins and Adipokines in the Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Etiology.
Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry, KVG Medical College and Hospital, Sullia 574327, India.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is an etiologically diverse metabolic dysfunction that, if untreated, leads to chronic hyperglycemia. Understanding the etiology of T2DM is critical, as it represents one of the most formidable medical challenges of the twenty-first century. Traditionally, insulin resistance has been recognized as the primary risk factor and a well-known consequence of type 2 diabetes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCeliac trunk angiography with balloon occlusion of splenic artery for diagnosis and treatment of splenic steal syndrome.
Radiol Case Rep
March 2025
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Splenic steal syndrome (SSS) post liver transplant is a potential cause of graft dysfunction in the setting of peripheral hepatic arterial bed resistance and redirection of blood flow to a dominant splenic artery resulting in reduction of hepatic arterial inflow. We report utilization of balloon occlusion of the proximal splenic artery as an objective measure to confirm the diagnosis of SSS in a patient with orthotopic liver transplant followed by successful treatment with proximal splenic artery embolization using Gelfoam and Amplatzer vascular plug. Written informed consent for the publication of this case report was obtained from the patient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!