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D. Donaldson
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P2.08 - Poster Session with Presenters Present (ID 491)
- Event: WCLC 2016
- Type: Poster Presenters Present
- Track: Patient Support and Advocacy Groups
- Presentations: 1
- Moderators:
- Coordinates: 12/06/2016, 14:30 - 15:45, Hall B (Poster Area)
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P2.08-003 - Quality of Life and Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Lung Cancer Patients; Treatment Outcomes, and Patient Management (ID 3896)
14:30 - 14:30 | Author(s): D. Donaldson
- Abstract
Background:
Patients with lung cancer rank maintaining their independence and being able to care for themselves as being of greater importance than the symptoms of their disease. Quality of life (QOL) and patient reported outcomes (PRO) provide measures of patients’ physical, functional, and psychosocial wellbeing.
Methods:
In October 2015, advocacy organization executives met to review and evaluate the importance of QOL and PROs within the context of clinical trials and their usefulness during the care of patients with lung cancer by community oncologists. The discussion included the impact of QOL, cancer-related weight changes, diet, and exercise on patients’ overall health and advocating the importance of QOL and PRO assessments in patients with lung cancer through social media.
Results:
QOL and PRO measures are associated with treatment outcomes and may be useful in patient management to evaluate individual treatments and survival. Malnourishment, common in patients with lung cancer, reduces survival. Reduced appetite contributes to cancer cachexia and sarcopenia. Sarcopenia can lead to frailty, decreasing patients’ independence and tolerance and responsiveness to treatment. Early intervention to improve diet and prevent weight loss of greater than >10% greatly improves patients’ functional status and facilitates cancer treatment. Where possible, activity should be encouraged. Exercise throughout cancer treatment is safe for cancer patients and improves physical function and QOL. Information about the importance of enhanced diet and exercise and the usefulness of QOL and PROs in the management of patients with lung cancer could be shared via social media.
Conclusion:
Patients with lung cancer value QOL more than symptom management. Clinical trial data suggest that higher baseline QOL and PROs correlate with better disease outcome; these tools may be useful in the overall management of patients (Hollen 2014). Treatments should be evaluated based on their impact on QOL and PROs as well as survival. Weight maintenance and exercise are essential for patients overall health and QOL, and should be included in patients’ treatment planning. Social media may be effective in raising awareness among patients with lung cancer and their caregivers about the importance of enhanced diet and exercise. Further discussion and research about the usefulness of QOL and PRO measures in the management of patients with lung cancer is warranted. Reference: Hollen PJ, Gralla RJ, Kris MG, et al. Measurement of quality of life in patients with lung cancer in multicenter trials of new therapies. Psychometric assessment of the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale. Cancer. 1994;73(8)2087-98.
