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Effects of a computer-supported interactive tailored patient assessment tool on patient care, symptom distress, and patients' need for symptom management support: a randomized clinical trial.OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of a computer-assisted, interactive tailored patient assessment (ITPA) tool in oncology practice on: documented patient care, symptom distress, and patients' need for symptom management support during treatment and rehabilitation. DESIGN AND METHODS: For this repeated measures clinical trial at a university hospital in Norway, 145 patients starting treatment for leukemia or lymphoma were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n=75) or control group (n=70). Both groups used the ITPA for symptom assessments prior to inpatient and outpatient visits for up to one year. The assessment summary, which displayed patients' self-reported symptoms, problems, and distress in rank-order of the patient's need for support, was provided to physicians and nurses in the intervention group only but not in the control group. RESULTS: Significantly more symptoms were addressed in the intervention group patient charts versus those of the control group. Symptom distress in the intervention group decreased significantly over time in 11 (58%) of 19 symptom/problem categories versus 2 (10%) for the control group. Need for symptom management support over time also decreased significantly more for the intervention group than the control group in 13 (68%) symptom categories. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show that an ITPA used in an interdisciplinary oncology practice can significantly improve patient-centered care and patient outcomes, including reduced symptom distress and reduced need for symptom management support.
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The impact of primary tumour origins in patients with advanced oesophageal, oesophago-gastric junction and gastric adenocarcinoma--individual patient data from 1775 patients in four randomised controlled trials.BACKGROUND: It is unclear if differential chemotherapy effects exist on overall survival (OS), response rate (RR) and toxicity depending on primary tumour origin [oesophageal versus oesophago-gastric junction (OGJ) versus gastric adenocarcinoma]. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 2110 patients were enrolled in four randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing fluoropyrimidine +/- platinum-based chemotherapy. This analysis used individual patient data and restricted to patients with adenocarcinoma who received one or more dose of chemotherapy. Gastric origin was the control in comparisons of tumour origin. RESULTS: Of the 2110 patients randomised, 1775 (84%) patients had adenocarcinoma with oesophageal (n = 485), OGJ (n = 457) and gastric (n = 833) origins. The median OS was 9.5 months in oesophageal, 9.3 months in OGJ and 8.7 months in gastric cancer (P = 0.68). RR was 44.1% in oesophageal, 41.1% in OGJ and 35.6% in gastric cancers (P = 0.11 and 0.27, respectively, compared with gastric cancer on multivariate analysis). Toxicity composite end point occurred in 46%, 47% and 45% in oesophageal, OGJ and gastric cancers, respectively (P = 0.85 and 0.62 compared with gastric). CONCLUSIONS: In our large multicentre RCT dataset, no significant differences were demonstrated on multivariate analyses in OS, RR and toxic effects among patients with advanced oesophageal, OGJ and gastric adenocarcinoma. Future RCTs should not exclude oesophageal adenocarcinoma.