The impact of early palliative care on the quality of life of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer: The IMPERATIVE case-crossover study.

PURPOSE: Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease. Many patients experience a heavy burden of cancer-associated symptoms and poor quality of life (QOL). Early palliative care alongside standard oncologic care results in improved QOL and survival in some cancer types. The benefit in advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) is not fully quantified. METHODS: In this prospective case-crossover study, patients ≥ 18 years old with APC were recruited from ambulatory clinics at a tertiary cancer center. Patients underwent a palliative care consultation within 2 weeks of registration, with follow up visits every 2 weeks for the first month, then every 4 weeks until week 16, then as needed. The primary outcome was change in QOL between baseline (BL) and week 16, measured by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep). Secondary outcomes included symptom control (ESAS-r), depression, and anxiety (HADS, PHQ-9) at week 16. RESULTS: Of 40 patients, 25 (63%) were male, 28 (70%) had metastatic disease, 31 (78%) had ECOG performance status 0-1, 31 (78%) received chemotherapy. Median age was 70. Mean FACT-hep score at BL was 118.8, compared to 125.7 at week 16 (mean change 6.89, [95%CI (-1.69-15.6); p = 0.11]). On multivariable analysis, metastatic disease (mean change 15.3 [95%CI (5.3-25.2); p = 0.004]) and age < 70 (mean change 12.9 [95%CI (0.5-25.4); p = 0.04]) were associated with improved QOL. Patients with metastatic disease had significant improvement in symptom burden (mean change -7.4 [95%CI (-13.4 to -1.4); p = 0.02]). There was no difference in depression or anxiety from BL to week 16. CONCLUSION: Palliative care should be integrated early in the journey for patients with APC, as it can improve QOL and symptom burden. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03837132.

Total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer: a guide for surgeons.

The modern management of rectal cancers continues to evolve. With the release of data from new landmark randomized controlled trials (RAPIDO, PRODIGE-23), total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) has moved to the forefront of locally advanced rectal cancer treatment and is considered a standard option in selected patients. Total neoadjuvant therapy promises enhanced systemic disease control, better treatment adherence and less time with an ostomy. However, TNT as currently described encompasses a number of different potential treatment options that differ significantly in terms of their radiation dosage, chemotherapy regimen and order of treatments administered. Being familiar with TNT regimens will be important for rectal cancer surgeons to appropriately advocate for their patients and optimize their outcomes. This article serves as a primer for the general surgeon and offers a pragmatic overview of the indications, realistic expected benefits and potential downsides of each TNT regimen.

Ketogenic and low-sugar diets for patients with cancer: perceptions and practices of medical oncologists in Canada.

PURPOSE: Many patients with cancer are interested in complementary therapies, including strategies such as reduced carbohydrate diets. Guidelines regarding the use of these diets during cancer treatment are lacking; therefore, we aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of medical oncologists in Canada regarding low-sugar and ketogenic diets. METHOD: A cross-sectional, online multiple-choice survey was distributed to 206 Canadian medical oncologists. Questions explored frequency of patient interactions, oncologist perceptions of efficacy, advice given to patients, and concerns about side effects related to reduced carbohydrate diets. RESULTS: Responses were received from 57 medical oncologists in seven of thirteen provinces and territories, with an overall response rate of 28%. Forty-nine percent of respondents were asked at least weekly about a low-sugar diet, and 9% about the ketogenic diet. Eighty-five percent supported the use of a low-added sugar diet in patients with diabetes or hyperglycemia, while conversely 87% did not support the use of a ketogenic diet for any of their patients undergoing active cancer treatment. Respondents felt either that a ketogenic diet was not effective (31%) or that the effect on cancer outcomes was unknown (69%). Ninety-six percent of respondents had concerns about a ketogenic diet for patients receiving active cancer treatment. CONCLUSION: The role of reduced carbohydrate diets during cancer treatment is topical. Canadian oncologists are particularly reluctant to support a ketogenic diet for patients on active cancer treatment, with concerns about side effects and unknown efficacy. There may be a role for continuing medical education and institutional guidelines to inform these discussions with patients.

Breast Cancer Polygenic-Risk Score Influence on Risk-Reducing Endocrine Therapy Use: Genetic Risk Estimate (GENRE) Trial 1-Year and 2-Year Follow-Up.

Refinement of breast cancer risk estimates with a polygenic-risk score (PRS) may improve uptake of risk-reducing endocrine therapy (ET). A previous clinical trial assessed the influence of adding a PRS to traditional risk estimates on ET use. We stratified participants according to PRS-refined breast cancer risk and evaluated ET use and ET-related quality of life (QOL) at 1-year (previously reported) and 2-year follow-ups. Of 151 participants, 58 (38.4%) initiated ET, and 22 (14.6%) discontinued ET by 2 years; 42 (27.8%) and 36 (23.8%) participants were using ET at 1- and 2-year follow-ups, respectively. At the 2-year follow-up, 39% of participants with a lifetime breast cancer risk of 40.1% to 100.0%, 18% with a 20.1% to 40.0% risk, and 16% with a 0.0% to 20.0% risk were taking ET (overall P = 0.01). Moreover, 40% of participants whose breast cancer risk increased by 10% or greater with addition of the PRS to a traditional breast cancer-risk model were taking ET versus 0% whose risk decreased by 10% or greater (P = 0.004). QOL was similar for participants taking or not taking ET at 1- and 2-year follow-ups, although most who discontinued ET did so because of adverse effects. However, these QOL results may have been skewed by the long interval between QOL surveys and lack of baseline QOL data. PRS-informed breast cancer prevention counseling has a lasting, but waning, effect over time. Additional follow-up studies are needed to address the effect of PRS on ET adherence, ET-related QOL, supplemental breast cancer screening, and other risk-reducing behaviors. PREVENTION RELEVANCE: Risk-reducing medications for breast cancer are considerably underused. Informing women at risk with precise and individualized risk assessment tools may substantially affect the incidence of breast cancer. In our study, a risk assessment tool (IBIS-polygenic-risk score) yielded promising results, with 39% of women at highest risk starting preventive medication.

Is iron deficiency in the absence of anemia associated with fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease?

OBJECTIVES: We explored whether iron deficiency in the absence of anemia is associated with fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: We assessed iron deficiency and anemia in 280 participants from the population-based Manitoba IBD Cohort Study. RESULTS: Iron deficiency was identified in 20% with Crohn's disease and 27% with ulcerative colitis. Anemia was identified overall in 50 (18%), with 230 who were nonanemic. In the nonanemic subgroup, there were no significant differences between iron-deficient and -sufficient groups in mean fatigue levels or proportions with problematic fatigue. There was no unique contribution of iron deficiency to problematic fatigue after adjustment for active disease and anemia. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence of an association between iron deficiency and fatigue in the absence of anemia, suggesting that iron deficiency is not a clinically relevant contributor to fatigue in IBD.

Capecitabine-mediated heart failure in colorectal cancer: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Capecitabine is a pyrimidine antimetabolite that inhibits thymidylate synthase and is commonly used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Adverse cardiac side effects are reported in 1-18% of patients receiving Capecitabine. The most commonly proposed mechanism of cardiotoxicity in the setting of Capecitabine use is vasospasm of the coronary arteries. However, cardiotoxicity can also present as an acute coronary syndrome, arrhythmia, hypertension, and/or sudden cardiac death. Profound non-vasospastic cardiotoxicity is rare. CASE SUMMARY: We describe two cases of acute heart failure leading to cardiogenic shock in patients shortly after exposure to Capecitabine. Both patients did not demonstrate the characteristic transient ST elevation seen in patients with coronary artery vasospasms secondary to Capecitabine. Both patients required admission to the Acute Cardiac Care Unit requiring vasopressor and inotropic support. Thorough diagnostic investigations including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and cardiac computed tomography did not identify infarction, myocarditis, or any infiltrative process to explain their symptoms. Both patients had complete resolution of cardiac function, with no long-term sequalae. DISCUSSION: In patients receiving Capecitabine, reversible heart failure leading to cardiogenic shock should be considered as a potential cardiotoxic side effect.

Moving forward after cancer: successful implementation of a colorectal cancer patient-centered transitions program.

PURPOSE: Cancer survivors transitioning between academic comprehensive cancer systems and community general practice settings are vulnerable to discontinuity, inconsistency and variation in care, inappropriate surveillance testing, and a sense of isolation and loss. Though these issues have been well recognized for over a decade and a half in the survivorship, oncologic, and health services literature, there remains a dearth of positive examples of models that have been well received by both the transitioned patient and the providers on either side of the handoff. We herein describe a sustained positive example of a transitions program. This program centers on standardized and personalized survivorship care plans (SCP) to guide follow-up care and recovery. METHODS: Following the province-wide introduction of a transitions program for treated stages II and III colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, a post-implementation survey was mailed to transitioned patients with the primary outcome evaluated the patients' perception of improved continuity of care and the main instrument used the Patient Continuity of Care Questionnaire. This was compared against a previously published pre-implementation historical control. RESULTS: The data presented comparing pre- and post-implementation patient cohorts reflect significantly improved patient-reported perceptions regarding the enhanced continuity and coordination of their follow-up and survivorship care after the province-wide introduction of a formal transitions process. This SCP intervention has been sustained post implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Using, as a starting-point, a standardized electronically SCP, CancerCare Manitoba has successfully facilitated a jurisdiction-wide implementation of a scalable, reproducible, and adaptable transitions program. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This intervention at the time of transition back to the community has enhanced CRC survivor perception of continuity and coordination of follow-up care.

Interventions to Improve Oral Chemotherapy Safety and Quality: A Systematic Review.

IMPORTANCE: With the growing use of oral chemotherapy, there is an urgent need to develop safe and effective systems to administer and manage these agents. A comprehensive synthesis of literature on oral chemotherapy care delivery programs to which clinicians can look for best practices is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the peer-reviewed and gray literature on interventions to improve oral chemotherapy care delivery toward describing best practices and identifying current gaps. EVIDENCE REVIEW: Using search terms pertaining to the concepts of oral chemotherapy, cancer, and interventions and outcomes, we performed a systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL from January 1995 to May 24, 2016, to identify oral chemotherapy intervention programs. We searched the gray literature from January 1995 through February 2016 and contacted gray literature authors for further information. Four physician abstractors reviewed the titles, abstracts, and articles. Quality of the articles was assessed using SQUIRE2 guidelines. Interventions were evaluated in the categories of prescribing, preparation/dispensing, education, administration, monitoring, and storage/disposal. The population of interest included all ages and was limited to traditional cytotoxic and targeted anticancer oral agents. FINDINGS: From 7984 abstracts identified in the peer-reviewed literature search, 16 full-text articles met inclusion criteria representing 3612 patients. Interventions focused on prescribing (n = 1), preparation/dispensing (n = 2), education (n = 11), administration (n = 5), monitoring (n = 14), and storage/disposal (n = 1). In the 10 articles with adherence as the primary outcome, 4 evaluation methods were used. Most improvements were seen in toxic effects/safety compared with adherence. Of the 7 interventions with statistically significant improvement in the primary outcome, 3 nursing phone calls to contact patients within the first few days after treatment initiation, 2 of them with standardized toxic effects management protocols. Interventions using technology to increase touch points between care teams and patients (including video directly observed therapy, automated voice response, and text messages) were not effective. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A framework for the oral chemotherapy management process with standardized outcome definitions is needed to ensure constructive research. Existing data suggest that a monitoring program should include personal contact with patients within the first weeks of treatment. Whether such contact can be enhanced by technology is uncertain.

The utility of 6-thioguanine metabolite levels in managing patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed at determining the utility of measuring 6-thioguanine (6-TG) and 6-methylmercaptopurine (6-MMP) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients on azathioprine (AZA) or 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), whether the described therapeutic range for 6-TG (235-400 pmol/8 x 10(8) red blood cells, RBC) correlated with clinical remission or leukopenia, and if 6-MMP level was a marker for hepatotoxicity (>5,700 pmol/8 x 10(8) RBC). METHODS: Study eligibility included an IBD diagnosis of >6 months and either active disease or disease remission of <6 months and the use of AZA/6-MP for >10 wk consecutively. Metabolite levels were evaluated against clinical status, CBC, and hepatic parameters. RESULTS: Seventy-four of 166 AZA/6-MP users were eligible. 6-TG levels >235 pmol/8 x 10(8) RBC were found in 22/59 (38%) with active disease and in 7/15 with remission (47%, p= 0.16). There was a trend of higher 6-TG levels among those in remission versus those with active disease (mean 325 +/- 284 vs 223 +/- 159 pmol/8 x 10(8) RBC, p= 0.2). No hepatotoxicity was observed, although 12.2% had 6-MMP levels > 5,700 pmol/8 x 10(8) RBC. The correlation between 6-MP dose and 6-TG levels was weak (r = 0.22, p= 0.08). The 6-TG level did not correlate with WBC. There were five instances, each of markedly low levels of both 6-TG and 6-MMP, suggesting noncompliance and of marked 6-MMP levels versus 6-TG. CONCLUSIONS: There was a poor correlation between 6-TG levels and remission. Nonetheless, the measurements of these levels are helpful when patients are on high doses but not achieving remission since noncompliance or metabolism favoring 6-MMP can be established.