Measurement of quality of life in bone marrow transplantation survivors

This study was designed to assess the reliability and validity of a Quality of Life (QOL) instrument on a sample of 179 allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) survivors. The QOL-BMT tool was developed specifically for this population and was based on the investigators' prior research and a conceptual model of Quality of Life. Patients who were at least 100 days post BMT completed the 30 item visual analogue questionnaire. The instrument measured physical symptoms (e.g., weight loss, frequent colds, skin changes, cataracts, sexual problems), psychological to illness, social concerns (e.g., relationship adjustment, return to work), and spiritual well-being (e.g., sense of control, future goals). Psychometric analysis of the instrument included measures of reliability and validity. The study findings demonstrate the unique aspects of QOL dimensions in BMT survivors and the value of QOL assessment in clinical practice and research.This study was supported by the City of Hope National Medical Center, NCI Cancer Center Core Grant, R30 CA 33572 and the City of Hope BRSG Grant Support.     

Are we ready to predict late effects? A systematic review of clinically useful prediction models

BackgroundAfter completing treatment for cancer, survivors may experience late effects: consequences of treatment that persist or arise after a latent period.PurposeTo identify and describe all models that predict the risk of late effects and could be used in clinical practice.Data sourcesWe searched Medline through April 2014.Study selectionStudies describing models that (1) predicted the absolute risk of a late effect present at least 1 year post-treatment, and (2) could be used in a clinical setting.Data extractionThree authors independently extracted data pertaining to patient characteristics, late effects, the prediction model and model evaluation.Data synthesisAcross 14 studies identified for review, nine late effects were predicted: erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence after prostate cancer; arm lymphoedema, psychological morbidity, cardiomyopathy or heart failure and cardiac event after breast cancer; swallowing dysfunction after head and neck cancer; breast cancer after Hodgkin lymphoma and thyroid cancer after childhood cancer. Of these, four late effects are persistent effects of treatment and five appear after a latent period. Two studies were externally validated. Six studies were designed to inform decisions about treatment rather than survivorship care. Nomograms were the most common clinical output.ConclusionDespite the call among survivorship experts for risk stratification, few published models are useful for risk-stratifying prevention, early detection or management of late effects. Few models address serious, modifiable late effects, limiting their utility. Cancer survivors would benefit from models focused on long-term, modifiable and serious late effects to inform the management of survivorship care.     

Do adolescent cancer survivors need health care and psychosocial services?: An Indonesian experience

Objective

Advances in childhood cancer treatment have contributed to an increased survival rate among childhood cancer patients. The increasing number of survivors means that more help is needed to support them in dealing with the physical and psychosocial problems following their cancer therapy. This study explored the needs of adolescent cancer survivors in terms of health care and psychosocial services.

Thoracic imaging outcomes in COVID-19 survivors

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents a significant global public health challenge. One in five individuals with COVID-19 presents with symptoms that last for weeks after hospital discharge, a condition termed “long COVID”. Thus, efficient follow-up of patients is needed to assess the resolution of lung pathologies and systemic involvement. Thoracic imaging is multimodal and involves using different forms of waves to produce images of the organs within the thorax. In general, it includes chest X-ray, computed tomography, lung ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Such modalities have been useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19. These tools have also allowed for the follow-up and assessment of long COVID. This review provides insights on the effectiveness of thoracic imaging techniques in the follow-up of COVID-19 survivors who had long COVID.     

Prevalence of Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Survivors in the United States

Advances in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) have led to an increasing number of transplant survivors. To adequately support their healthcare needs, there is a need to know the prevalence of HCT survivors. We used data on 170,628 recipients of autologous and allogeneic HCT reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research from 1968 to 2009 to estimate the current and future number of HCT survivors in the United States. Stacked cohort simulation models were used to estimate the number of HCT survivors in the United States in 2009 and to make projections for HCT survivors by the year 2030. There were 108,900 (range, 100,500 to 115,200) HCT survivors in the United States in 2009. This included 67,000 autologous HCT and 41,900 allogeneic HCT survivors. The number of HCT survivors is estimated to increase by 2.5 times by the year 2020 (242,000 survivors) and 5 times by the year 2030 (502,000 survivors). By 2030, the age at transplant will be < 18 years for 14% of all survivors (n = 64,000), 18 to 59 years for 61% survivors (n = 276,000), and 60 years and older for 25% of survivors (n = 113,000). In coming decades, a large number of individuals will be HCT survivors. Transplant center providers, hematologists, oncologists, primary care physicians, and other specialty providers will need to be familiar with the unique and complex health issues faced by this population.     

Characterization of antibody and memory T-cell response in H7N9 survivors: a cross-sectional analysis

ObjectivesDespite the importance of immunological memory for protective immunity against viral infection, whether H7N9-specific antibodies and memory T-cell responses remain detectable years after the original infection is unknown.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the immune memory responses of H7N9 patients who contracted the disease and survived during the 2013–2016 epidemics in China. Sustainability of antibodies and T-cell memory to H7N9 virus were examined. Healthy individuals receiving routine medical examinations in a physical examination centre were recruited as control.ResultsA total of 75 survivors were enrolled and classified into four groups based on the time elapsed from illness onset to specimen collection: 3 months (n = 14), 14 months (n = 14), 26 months (n = 28) and 36 months (n = 19). Approximately 36 months after infection, the geometric mean titres of virus-specific antibodies were significantly lower than titres in patients 3 months after infection, but 16 of 19 (84.2%) survivors in the 36-month interval had microneutralization (MN) titres ≥40. Despite the overall declining trend, the percentages of virus-specific cytokine-secreting memory CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells remained higher in survivors at nearly all time-points in comparison with control individuals. Linear regression analysis showed that severe disease (mean titre ratio 2.77, 95% CI 1.17–6.49) was associated with higher haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titre and female sex for both HI (1.92, 1.02–3.57) and MN (3.33, 1.26–9.09) antibody, whereas female sex (mean percentage ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.08–2.63), underlying medical conditions (1.94, 95% CI 1.09–3.46) and lack of antiviral therapy (2.08, 95% CI 1.04–4.17) were predictors for higher T-cell responses.ConclusionsSurvivors of H7N9 virus infection produced long-term antibodies and memory T-cell responses. Our findings warrant further serological investigation in general and high-risk populations and have important implications for vaccine design and development.     

儿童恶性肿瘤幸存者健康相关生活质量研究进展

随着医疗科学技术的发展,儿童恶性肿瘤的幸存者越来越多,幸存者的健康相关生活质量(HRQoL)逐渐成为关注的焦点。儿童恶性肿瘤幸存者除了要承受疾病带来的生理、心理、社会的压力,还将要面对由治疗带来的生长发育障碍、性腺功能障碍及癌症远期效应,如脏器功能损害和二次肿瘤。大量研究显示,恶性肿瘤HRQoL显著低于健康人群,但也有少量的研究认为癌症经历对幸存者的生活质量可能有积极的影响。目前HRQoL的评价主要通过生活质量量表完成,后者可以从躯体健康、心理健康、社会健康和精神健康等方面进行综合评价。期待更多的观察性、横断面、尤其是长期随访研究来进一步描述儿童恶性肿瘤幸存者的HRQoL,这样可以为更多的干预研究提供基础,更为临床工作者的临床决策提供循证依据。     

Sexual Inactivity During the Last 4 Weeks in Long-Term Cervical Cancer Survivors: Prevalence and Associated Factors

BackgroundMost studies of cervical cancer (CC) survivors describe sexual inactivity in relation to treatment modalities, but few consider that inactivity varies with age and partner status.AimThe aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sexual inactivity in long-term CC survivors according to age and partner status, and to examine cancer-related, health, demographic, and psychological factors related to sexual inactivity.MethodsAll 974 women treated for CC from 2000 through 2007 in 2 areas of Norway, who were alive and cancer-free by the end of 2013, received a mailed questionnaire. Among them, 523 delivered valid data on current sexual activity (response rate 57%). The prevalence rates of sexual inactivity in relation to age groups and partner status were compared to normative sample (NORMs).Main Outcome MeasureSexual inactivity during the 4 weeks before the survey was administered.ResultsMedian age of the sample at survey was 53 years (range 32–77) and median time since diagnosis was 11 years (range 6–15). Of the survivors aged 35–69 years, 39% (95% CI 35–44%) were sexually inactive at survey compared to 36% (95% CI 32–38%) in the NORMs. Compared with sexually active survivors, inactive ones were significantly older, more frequently had single partner status, and had less frequently been childbearing. Inactive survivors more frequently had low education, did not hold paid work at survey, had poorer self-rated health, and were more often obese. They also had higher prevalence of depression, high neuroticism, and chronic fatigue. On most cancer-related quality of life measures, sexually inactive survivors had significantly lower mean scores than sexually active ones. They significantly more often had been treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation than with conization or major surgery. In multivariable regression analysis, only older age, no prior childbearing, and single partner status remained significantly associated with sexual inactivity.Clinical implicationsSociodemographic variables may be more relevant than clinical and cancer-related variables concerning sexual inactivity in long-term CC survivors.Strengths & LimitationsOur study had a considerable sample size and used instruments with established psychometric qualities. The moderate response rates of the study and of the NORMs imply risks for selection biases.ConclusionClose to 4 in 10 survivors were sexually inactive which is similar to the rate among NORMs. Demographic factors were most strongly associated with sexual inactivity. Some other significant factors are eventually amenable to treatment and should be checked by the health-care providers.Dahl AA, Bentzen AG, Fosså SD, et al. Sexual Inactivity During the Last 4 Weeks in Long-Term Cervical Cancer Survivors: Prevalence and Associated Factors. J Sex Med 2020;17:1359–1369.     

Is there a role for a specialized follow-up clinic for survivors of pediatric cancer?

Due to advances in chemotherapy and supportive care, greater than 70% of patients with childhood cancer will survive 5 years. However, there are long-term physiological and psychological sequelae of these treatments that may not manifest until pediatric survivors are into adulthood. Various studies done in the long-term pediatric survivors have noted that they are at increased risk for poor health and for chronic health problems. One complicating factor in treating these patients for their health problems is that many childhood cancer survivors are unaware of their past medical history and what their past cancer treatment entailed. There are also a number of barriers to medical care in survivors of childhood cancer which include inadequate insurance coverage for many and lack of knowledge of long-term effects physicians. As pediatric cancer survivors age they usually transition to community physicians. This paper proposes different models for follow-up clinics for survivors of pediatric cancers so childhood cancer survivors are not be subjected to cost ineffective or excessive evaluations but rather medical screening tests that are risk and guidelines that are set forth by experts.