Quality of life articles within Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology

Featured

  • News & Views |

    A recent study not only confirms mounting evidence that technology-facilitated symptom monitoring improves care and should be considered for all patients with cancer, but also suggests that patient navigators can help to deliver such interventions. Herein we discuss how such an approach can minimize disparities and maximize access to culturally appropriate patient-centred care.

    • Gabrielle B. Rocque
    •  & Abby R. Rosenberg

  • Viewpoint |

    Immune-checkpoint inhibitors and BRAF-targeted therapy have revolutionized the treatment of advanced-stage, unresectable melanoma and have been successfully transitioned into the resectable disease setting as (neo)adjuvant treatments. The expanding range of treatment options available for resectable high-risk melanoma raises questions over selection of the optimal therapeutic strategy and agents for each individual. Furthermore, the use of perioperative therapy has potentially important implications for the management of patients who have disease recurrence. In this Viewpoint, we asked four expert investigators who have been involved in the key studies of perioperative systemic therapies for their perspectives on the optimal management of patients with high-risk melanoma.

    • Alexander M. M. Eggermont
    • , Omid Hamid
    •  & Jason J. Luke

  • Comment |

    Gynaecological cancer diagnosis and treatment can affect reproductive function. Fertility preservation is a complex issue for women with these cancers but one that needs to be addressed during cancer management as it can restore not only fertility but also a threatened or lost sense of femininity. In this Comment, we discuss the importance of fertility counselling to provide optimal cancer care.

    • Vânia Gonçalves
    •  & Gwendolyn P. Quinn

  • Comment |

    The value of medical treatments is an issue that has been actively debated in recent years and is not unique to oncology. In this Comment, we discuss why we pursue treatments which might have limited benefit from the point of view of three parties: the patient, the physician, and the pharmaceutical industry.

    • Christopher M. Booth
    •  & Allan S. Detsky

  • Review Article |

    In the past decade, the importance of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) as a key measure of the quality of care delivered to patients with cancer has been acknowledged. PROs were used in the context of research studies, but growing evidence indicates that the incorporation of electronic PRO (ePRO) assessments into standard health-care settings can improve the quality of care delivered to patients with cancer. The authors of this Review discuss aspects related to PROs such as measurements, implementation challenges, and outcome improvements associated with their use.

    • Thomas W. LeBlanc
    •  & Amy P. Abernethy

  • News & Views |

    In 2016, results of an important randomized trial demonstrated that patients undergoing chemotherapy who reported symptoms electronically have a better quality of life than those receiving usual care. Now, a significant survival improvement for patients in the experimental arm of this study has been reported. The emphasis of this survival benefit is 'culturally' positive, promoting the adoption of patient-reported outcomes in clinical practice.

    • Elisa Sperti
    •  & Massimo Di Maio

  • News & Views |

    The VOICE study addressed the oncologist–patient dyad by adding a two-sided intervention. The results of this ostensibly positive study are, at best, limited and, at worst, cosmetic because clinically relevant long-term outcomes were unaffected. VOICE is the first attempt at addressing complexity in this genre of studies and, even with its shortcomings, teaches us some important lessons.

    • Nathan Cherny

  • News & Views |

    Most patients with cancer who develop brain metastases have a very poor prognosis, especially those with brain metastases from non-small-cell lung cancer. The short life-expectancy of these patients, which is typically measured in weeks or a few months, raises an important question: do they benefit from whole-brain radiotherapy, or are they appropriately treated with best supportive care alone? A recent randomized trial sought to answer this question.

    • Dirk Rades
    •  & Steven E. Schild

  • Opinion |

    Comparisons of patients' and clinicians' reports of adverse effects during clinical trials frequently reveal underreporting by clinicians and a discord between the severities of the adverse effects experienced by patients and estimates from clinicians. Despite this situation, few trials include patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). In this Perspectives, the authors compare and discuss the use of such measures in clinical trials in men with prostate cancer over the past 5 years, highlighting a need for greater use of PROMs.

    • Lesley Fallowfield
    • , Heather Payne
    •  & Valerie Jenkins

  • Opinion |

    Reporting of toxic adverse effects of anticancer treatments by clinicians generally results in the underreporting of these toxicities. Patient-reported outcomes, which fully reflect the experiences of patients receiving treatment, offer an alternative to reporting of toxicities by clinicians. In this Perspective, the authors describe the barriers and challenges to routine integration of patient-reported outcomes into clinical trials, and describe the PRO–CTCAE, which is designed to help circumvent some of these challenges.

    • Massimo Di Maio
    • , Ethan Basch
    •  & Francesco Perrone

  • Review Article |

    The practice of palliative care for patients with cancer is continually improving, and an increasing evidence base indicates that early integration of oncological and palliative care can result in wide-ranging benefits for the patients, their loved ones, clinicians, and health-care payers. Herein, David Hui and Eduardo Bruera discuss optimization of clinical infrastructures, processes, and education to support this strategy, and provide a conceptual model for the integration of supportive and/or palliative care with primary and oncological care. The authors emphasize the need for health-care systems and institutions to tailor integration based on their resources, size, and the level of primary palliative care available.

    • David Hui
    •  & Eduardo Bruera

  • Review Article |

    Transarterial therapies in the setting of primary and secondary liver malignancies are an essential part of the oncology landscape. Most patients are not amenable to curative surgical intervention, which necessitates the use of alternative treatments that preserve quality of life whilst providing clinical benefit. The authors of this Review discuss intra-arterial techniques in light of the current levels of evidence to support their appropriate use in various clinical settings.

    • Ali Habib
    • , Kush Desai
    •  & Riad Salem

  • Review Article |

    Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, such as quality of life, have been associated with relevant clinical end points and are prognostic for survival outcomes in a variety of solid cancers in adults. The authors of this Review comprehensively assess the correlation of PROs with treatment response and survival, and explore tumour-related and patient-centric composite end points in patients with cancer participating in clinical trials.

    • Angeles A. Secord
    • , Robert L. Coleman
    •  & David Cella

  • Review Article |

    Delirium is a common neurocognitive manifestation in patients with cancer, particularly at advanced stages of the disease, and represents a considerable challenge for the patients, their families as well as health-care professionals involved in their care. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of the diagnosis, assessment, pathogenesis and management of delirium. The experiential impacts of delirium on patients with the condition, their family members and health-care practitioners are also discussed.

    • Peter G. Lawlor
    •  & Shirley H. Bush

  • News & Views |

    Although large, population-based studies are a powerful tool for elucidating real-world outcomes and uncommon events, confounding factors must be tightly controlled. A recent report from Nam and coauthors has neglected such a confounding factor and, therefore, stands in need of further study to clarify the findings.

    • Ronald D. Ennis
    •  & S. Aidan Quinn

  • News & Views |

    A recent population-based analysis from Nam and coauthors found high complication rates occurring within 5 years of prostatectomy or radiation therapy interventions for prostate cancer. These findings emphasize that treatments should be reserved for men at significant risk of disease progression, and perhaps further concentrated into higher-volume centres of excellence.

    • Matthew R. Cooperberg

  • Review Article |

    Is there such a thing as a 'good death'? Palliative care services alleviate the debilitating physical symptoms and psychological distress that patients with cancer frequently experience at the end of their lives. In this Review, Khan and colleagues discuss the preferences of these patients and how advance care planning can help in meeting these choices.

    • Shaheen A. Khan
    • , Barbara Gomes
    •  & Irene J. Higginson

  • News & Views |

    A recent study has highlighted the risks and benefits associated with the administration of intermittent androgen deprivation therapy in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Although there are improvements in many quality-of-life domains, these improvements must be carefully weighed against the potential harms of intermittent androgen deprivation therapy in this patient population.

    • Matthew J. Resnick

Browse broader subjects

Browse Quality of life across other nature.com journals