0000000000136767
AUTHOR
Paolo Bossi
Management of orphan symptoms: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment†
### Highlights There is no clear definition of orphan symptoms. There is a group of symptoms that are seldom evaluated in most symptom assessment tools which can be considered as orphan symptoms.1 These are generally prevalent symptoms that are unaddressed in clinical practice, yet often not reported by the patients or by healthcare professionals.2 Orphan symptoms may be defined as symptoms not regularly assessed in clinical practice, and consequently little studied and not properly treated. No epidemiological or clinical studies generally exist to gauge the prevalence of the symptoms chosen; nevertheless, these symptoms are distressing for patients and their families. Orphan symptoms remai…
Sepsis in head and neck cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and radiation: literature review and consensus
Abstract: The reporting of infection/sepsis in chemo/radiation-treated head and neck cancer patients is sparse and the problem is underestimated. A multidisciplinary group of head and neck cancer specialists from Italy met with the aim of reaching a consensus on a clinical definition and management of infections and sepsis. The Delphi appropriateness method was used for this consensus. External expert reviewers then evaluated the conclusions carefully according to their area of expertise. The paper contains seven clusters of statements about the clinical definition and management of infections and sepsis in head and neck cancer patients, which had a consensus. Furthermore, it offers a revie…
Assessing Preferences in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Phase I and II of Questionnaire Development.
Shared-decision making for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is challenged by the difficulty to integrate the patient perception of value within the framework of a multidisciplinary team approach. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess the preferences of HNSCC patients with respect to the disease trajectory, expected treatment, and toxicities. In accordance with the standardized EORTC Quality of Life Group&rsquo
Patients with adenoid cystic carcinomas of the salivary glands treated with lenvatinib: Activity and quality of life
The treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) remains an unmet need.Patients with R/M disease with a history of clinical or symptomatic disease progression within 6 months and a maximum of 1 previous line of chemotherapy or a multiple kinase inhibitor received oral lenvatinib at a dose of 24 mg/day. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate; secondary endpoints included quality of life (QOL) (according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 Items [EORTC QLQ-C30] and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Question…
Accurate Triage of Oncological Patients for Safely Continuing Cancer Therapy During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of clinical triage of oncological patients for safe continuation of cancer therapy implemented during the first SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.MethodsBetween 25 February and 21 April 2020, patients attending the Medical Oncology Unit, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia (Italy) for cancer therapy underwent triage to identify those with no signs and symptoms suspicious for SARS-CoV-2 infection in which antineoplastic treatment could be continued as scheduled. Triage questions investigated common symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, dyspnea, anosmia, dysgeusia, headache, nasal congestion, conjunctival congestion, sore throat, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting); body temperature and p…
Italian version of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module: linguistic validation
Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients can experience symptoms due to the tumor itself or to the treatment, with an impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures pertaining to HRQoL are used in medical research and to support clinical decisions. PRO instrument applicability and cultural adaptation must be tested for each population. The aim of this study is to linguistically validate the Italian translation of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory—Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN). Methods: Following forward and backward translation of the items of the English MDASI-HN into Italian, it was administered along with a cognitive debriefing to HNC…