Assessment of psychological distress among Asian adolescents and young adults (AYA) cancer patients using the distress thermometer: a prospective, longitudinal study.

PURPOSE: Since few studies have investigated whether the Distress Thermometer (DT) in Asian adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients (between 15 and 39 years), we investigated the appropriateness of the DT as a screening tool for psychological symptom burden in these AYA patients and to evaluate AYA patients' distress across a trajectory of three time points longitudinally over a 6-month period. METHODS: This was a prospective, longitudinal study. Recruited Asian AYA patients were diagnosed with lymphomas, sarcomas, primary brain malignancies, or germ cell tumors. Patients completed the DT, PedsQL Generic Core Scales, and the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist. Data were analyzed using STATA version 15. RESULTS: Approximately half of the patients experienced clinically significant DT distress (distress score ≥ 4) early in their cancer journey with 43.1% patients presenting with distress at time of diagnosis and 47.7% patients 1 month after diagnosis. Among AYA patients > 24 years old, worry (68.3%), insurance/financial issues (61%), treatment decisions (43.9%), work/school issues (41.5%), nervousness (41.5%), and sadness (41.5%) were the top five identified problems. On the other hand, the top five identified problems among AYA ≤ 24 years were worry (54.2%), nervousness (41.7%), bathing/dressing problems (37.5%), work/school issues (33.3%), and fatigue (33.3%). DT scores were significantly associated with certain psychological symptom burden items such as worry (p < 0.001), depressed mood (p = 0.020), and nervousness (p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: The DT is a useful screening tool for psychological distress in AYA cancer patients with clinically significant distress being identified in the early phases of the cancer journey.

Prediction of overall survival following colorectal cancer surgery in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: With advanced age and chronic illness, the life expectancy of a patient with colorectal cancer (CRC) becomes less dependent on the malignant disease and more on their pre-morbid condition. Justifying major surgery for these elderly patients can be challenging. An accurate tool demonstrating post-operative survival probability would be useful for surgeons and their patients. AIM: To integrate clinically significant prognostic factors relevant to elective colorectal surgery in the elderly into a validated pre-operative scoring system. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, patients aged 70 and above who underwent surgery for CRC at Singapore General Hospital between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2012 were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Patients with evidence of metastatic disease, and those who underwent emergency surgery or had surgery for benign colorectal conditions were excluded from the analysis. The primary outcome was overall 3-year overall survival (OS) following surgery. A multivariate model predicting survival was derived and validated against an equivalent external surgical cohort from Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, South Korea. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata/MP Version 15.1. RESULTS: A total of 1267 patients were identified for analysis. The median post-operative length of stay was 8 [interquartile range (IQR) 6-12] d and median follow-up duration was 47 (IQR 19-75) mo. Median OS was 78 (IQR 65-85) mo. Following multivariate analysis, the factors significant for predicting overall mortality were serum albumin < 35 g/dL, serum carcinoembryonic antigen ≥ 20 µg/L, T stage 3 or 4, moderate tumor cell differentiation or worse, mucinous histology, rectal tumors, and pre-existing chronic obstructive lung disease. Advanced age alone was not found to be significant. The Korean cohort consisted of 910 patients. The Singapore cohort exhibited a poorer OS, likely due to a higher proportion of advanced cancers. Despite the clinicopathologic differences, there was successful validation of the model following recalibration. An interactive online calculator was designed to facilitate post-operative survival prediction, available at http://bit.ly/sgh_crc. The main limitation of the study was selection bias, as patients who had undergone surgery would have tended to be physiologically fitter. CONCLUSION: This novel scoring system generates an individualized survival probability following colorectal resection and can assist in the decision-making process. Validation with an external population strengthens the generalizability of this model.