Abstract 426P
Background
The support for caregivers (CG) of patients with cancer is an essential factor for maintaining the safety and continuity of palliative chemotherapy. Because of insufficient knowledge regarding their QOL, there are no durable strategies for supporting CGs during the treatment.
Methods
We aimed to assess the QOL of the CGs of patients with cancer undergoing palliative chemotherapy. This single-institution, prospective, observational study was approvedby the institutional review board of Ina Central Hospital on July 20th 2016. Total 102 patients undergoing palliative chemotherapy (64 male and 38 female patients; mean age 68.8 years) and their CGs (30 maleand 72 female; mean age 64.3 years) were included. The primary lesions in the patients were pancreatic in 30, colorectal in 21, stomach or duodenal in 21, oesophageal in 18, and biliary in 12. We used EORTC QL-C-30 to assess the QOL of patients and CGs at the beginning of the first-line chemotherapy. A total of 29 of 102 pairs of patients and CGs were assessed at the beginning of the first and second-line chemotherapies. According to a formula incorporating measures of clinical symptoms and comprehensive scales of physical function (PF), role function (RF), emotional function (EF), cognitive function (CF), and social function. In addition, a summary score (SS) and a global health scale (GHS) on QOL were computed using comprehensive scales.
Results
All the parameters assessed in CGs yielded higher values than those for patients; however, EF and CF did not show significant differences between patients and CGs. Among longitudinal observed pairs, discrepancies in GHS and SS between patients and CGs were identified in 38 % and 34%, respectively. Those CGs who did not demonstrate an improvement in GHS compared with those who showed an improvement in this parameter had lower PF and RF values at the beginning of the treatment.
Conclusions
Even at the beginning of the treatment, the CGs of patients with cancer undergoing palliative chemotherapy showed impairment in daily QOL. In addition, emotional and cognitive functions were impaired as much as patients. CGs with physical difficulty and role function impairment in family should be monitored for worsening of their QOL during the course of treatment.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
This has been edited for English language, grammar, punctuation, and spelling by Enago, the editing brand of Crimson Interactive Pvt. Ltd under Normal Editing.
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
4P - Impact of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on tissue expander or implant removal in breast cancer patients
Presenter: Sungmi Jung
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
5P - Long-term prognostic effect of hormone receptor subtype on breast cancer
Presenter: Ki-tae Hwang
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
6P - Effect of apparent diffusion coefficient in predicting pathologic responses in patients with breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy using nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel
Presenter: Yutaka Mizuno
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
7P - Current diagnostic strategy for mammographic microcalcification without specific ultrasound abnormality
Presenter: Naoki Sato
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
8P - Comparison of standard uptake value of 18F-FDG-PET-CT with tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer ≥1cm
Presenter: Soeun Park
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
10P - Prognosis and effect of adjuvant treatment in small, node(-), HER2(+) breast cancer
Presenter: Seungtaek Lim
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
11P - The prognosis of rare histopathologic subtype of breast cancer
Presenter: Soo Youn Bae
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
12P - Daily collection of physical activity via smartphone application and smart band for development of distress screening tools in breast cancer survivors: A feasibility study
Presenter: Yungil Shin
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
13P - Breast cancer distribution in East Azerbaijan, Iran: Results of population-based cancer registry
Presenter: Shima Pashaei
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
14P - Validation of the optimum timing of assessment of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes during preoperative chemotherapy for breast cancer
Presenter: Shinichiro Kashiwagi
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract