Health-Related Behaviours of Cancer Survivors: A Nationwide Korean Study.

This cross-sectional study investigated health-related behaviours in Korean cancer survivors by time after cancer diagnosis. The data of 50,532 subjects (aged 40 to 79 years) who participated in the 2007-2019 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) were subjected to analysis. Health-related behaviours included obesity, current smoking, frequent drinking, influenza vaccination, health screening, and cancer screening. The odds for these behaviours were estimated by multivariate logistic regression models with adjustment for potential covariates. Approximately 5% of subjects were cancer survivors, and among these three-fifths were long-term (≥5 years) survivors. Cancer survivors had healthier behaviours than non-survivors for almost all behaviours. However, these trends were attenuated in long-term survivors. In conclusion, healthy behaviour should be emphasised for long-term cancer survivors. Key Words: Cancer survivors, Cross-sectional studies, Health-related behaviours.

Association Between Oral Health Status and Survival Time in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with terminal cancer often experience various oral problems. Whether oral health status is associated with the survival of terminally ill cancer patients receiving palliative care remains unclear. METHODS: We analyzed the data of 59 Korean patients with terminal cancer receiving palliative care, including their oral health status, using a modified Korean version of the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT). Patients were categorized into "Good," "Moderate," or "Poor" groups based on OHAT scores. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the median survival time, and the prognosis between groups was estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: The most common oral symptoms observed were xerostomia (69.5%) and mucositis (17.0%). Significantly shorter survival times were observed in patients with hyperbilirubinemia, elevated creatinine levels, and no use of dentures. The "Poor" group had a shorter survival than the "Good" oral group (P = .010). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that the "Poor" group was significantly associated with poor survival compared to the "Good" group (hazard ratio, 2.05; P = .047). CONCLUSION: Terminally ill cancer patients with poor oral health may have a higher risk of shorter survival. Palliative care professionals should pay attention to oral health. Further research is needed to determine the effects of oral care on survival.

Validation of Modified Models of Objective Prognostic Score in Patients With Advanced Cancer.

Background: The objective prognostic score (OPS) needs to be modified to reflect practical palliative care circumstances. Objectives: We aimed to validate modified models of OPS with few or no laboratory tests for patients with advanced cancer. Design: An observational study was performed. Setting/Subjects: A secondary analysis of an international, multicenter cohort study of patients in East Asia was performed. The subjects were inpatients with advanced cancer in the palliative care unit. Measurements: We developed two modified OPS (mOPS) models to predict two-week survival: mOPS-A consisted of two symptoms, two objective signs, and three laboratory results, while mOPS-B consisted of three symptoms, two signs, and no laboratory data. We compared the accuracy of the prognostic models using sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Calibration plots for two-week survival and net reclassification indices (NRIs) were compared for the two models. Survival differences between higher and lower score groups of each model were identified by the log-rank test. Results: We included a total of 1796 subjects having median survival of 19.0 days. We found that mOPS-A had higher specificity (0.805-0.836) and higher AUROCs (0.791-0.797). In contrast, mOPS-B showed higher sensitivity (0.721-0.725) and acceptable AUROCs (0.740-0.751) for prediction of two-week survival. Two mOPSs showed good concordance in calibration plots. Considering NRIs, replacing the original OPS with mOPSs improved overall reclassification (absolute NRI: 0.47-4.15%). Higher score groups of mOPS-A and mOPS-B showed poorer survival than those of lower score groups (p < 0.001). Conclusions: mOPSs used reduced laboratory data and had relatively good accuracy for predicting survival in advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care.

Renal Insufficiency According to Time after Cancer Diagnosis: Findings of a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Little is known about the relationship between renal insufficiency and time after cancer diagnosis. Methods: The data of 71,302 individuals (aged 19 to 79 yr) that participated in the 2007-2019 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were subjected to analysis. Renal insufficiency was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Odds ratios of renal insufficiency were estimated using multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for potential covariates. Results: Of the 71,302 study subjects, 3.7% were cancer survivors and 2.2% were long-term (≥ 5 yr) survivors. Renal insufficiency was significantly more prevalent among short-term survivors, but not among long-term survivors, than among subjects without cancer. Conclusion: A cancer history of ≥ 5 yr is not an independent risk factor of renal insufficiency.

Clinicians' Prediction of Survival and Prognostic Confidence in Patients with Advanced Cancer in Three East Asian Countries.

Background: Little is known about accuracy and confidence of clinicians' prediction of survival (CPS) in East-Asian countries. Objective: We aimed to examine accuracy of CPS for 7-, 21-, and 42-day survival in palliative inpatients and its association with prognostic confidence. Design: An international prospective cohort study in Japan (JP), Korea (KR), and Taiwan (TW). Setting/Subjects: Subjects were inpatients with advanced cancer admitted to 37 palliative care units in three countries. Measurements: Discrimination of CPS was investigated through sensitivity, specificity, overall accuracy, and area under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUROCs) according to 7-, 21-, and 42-day survival. The accuracies of CPS were compared with those of Performance Status-based Palliative Prognostic Index (PS-PPI). Clinicians were instructed to rate confidence level on a 0-10-point scale. Results: A total of 2571 patients were analyzed. The specificity was highest at 93.2-100.0% for the 7-day CPS, and sensitivity was highest at 71.5-86.8% for the 42-day CPS. The AUROCs of the seven-day CPS were 0.88, 0.94, and 0.89, while those of PS-PPI were 0.77, 0.69, and 0.69 for JP, KR, and TW, respectively. As for 42-day prediction, sensitivities of PS-PPI were higher than those of CPS. Clinicians' confidence was strongly associated with the accuracy of prediction in all three countries (all p-values <0.01). Conclusions: CPS accuracies were highest (0.88-0.94) for the seven-day survival prediction. CPS was more accurate than PS-PPI in all timeframe prediction except 42-day prediction in KR. Prognostic confidence was significantly associated with the accuracy of CPS.

Performance of mid-upper arm circumference and other prognostic indices based on inflammation and nutrition in oncology outpatients: a tertiary cancer center study.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to compare the performance of established inflammation and nutrition-based prognostic indices with a relatively novel index 'mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC)' in outpatients with advanced cancer. METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study that enrolled 200 outpatients with advanced cancer visiting a medical oncology clinic at a tertiary hospital. All patients were followed until death, and the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), modified GPS (mGPS), Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), and MUAC were compared by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 64.4 years, 64.0% were male, and the median overall survival was 32.4 weeks [95% confidence interval (CI): 5.6-142.7]. Overall, all indices showed similarly high AUROCs for estimating 12-week (0.68 to 0.75) and 24-week survival (0.67 to 0.74). When confined to the GPS, mGPS, and MUAC, the AUROCs for 12-week survival were 0.75 (95% CI: 0.66-0.82), 0.74 (95% CI: 0.65-0.82), and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64-0.79), respectively. For 24-week survival, the AUROCs were 0.70 (95% CI: 0.62-0.76), 0.67 (95% CI: 0.60-0.74), and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64-0.79), respectively. MUAC had the highest specificity for estimating 12-week survival (86.0%), while GPS showed the highest sensitivity for estimating 12-week survival (81.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Inflammation and nutrition-based prognostic indices showed similar acceptable accuracies in estimating the 12- and 24-week survival of oncology outpatients. Notably, a simple and non-invasive index MUAC, showed comparable performance with established indices including GPS and mGPS.

Comparison of Objective Prognostic Score and Palliative Prognostic Score performance in inpatients with advanced cancer in Japan and Korea.

OBJECTIVE: Accurate prognostication is important for patients and their families to prepare for the end of life. Objective Prognostic Score (OPS) is an easy-to-use tool that does not require the clinicians' prediction of survival (CPS), whereas Palliative Prognostic Score (PaP) needs CPS. Thus, inexperienced clinicians may hesitate to use PaP. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of OPS compared with PaP in inpatients in palliative care units (PCUs) in three East Asian countries. METHOD: This study was a secondary analysis of a cross-cultural, multicenter cohort study. We enrolled inpatients with far-advanced cancer in PCUs in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from 2017 to 2018. We calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve to compare the accuracy of OPS and PaP. RESULTS: A total of 1,628 inpatients in 33 PCUs in Japan and Korea were analyzed. OPS and PaP were calculated in 71.7% of the Japanese patients and 80.0% of the Korean patients. In Taiwan, PaP was calculated for 81.6% of the patients. The AUROC for 3-week survival was 0.74 for OPS in Japan, 0.68 for OPS in Korea, 0.80 for PaP in Japan, and 0.73 for PaP in Korea. The AUROC for 30-day survival was 0.70 for OPS in Japan, 0.71 for OPS in Korea, 0.79 for PaP in Japan, and 0.74 for PaP in Korea. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Both OPS and PaP showed good performance in Japan and Korea. Compared with PaP, OPS could be more useful for inexperienced physicians who hesitate to estimate CPS.

Suicidal Ideation in Long-Term Adult Cancer Survivors: Findings of a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors suffer substantial psychologic distress, but little is known about their vulnerabilities to suicidal ideation more than 5 years after diagnosis. METHODS: We compared suicidal ideation among 1,033 adult cancer survivors, who had received a diagnosis of cancer more than 5 years previously, with that among individuals without a cancer history using nationwide survey data. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate suicidal ideation in cancer survivors. RESULTS: Cancer survivors did not have a significantly higher suicidal ideation rate than those without a cancer history, regardless of depressive mood. CONCLUSIONS: A cancer history of 5 years or greater is not associated with suicidal ideation. IMPACT: A large Korean study considering depressive mood affirm no association between long-term cancer survivorship and suicidal ideation.

Performance of clinician prediction of survival in oncology outpatients with advanced cancer.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the performance of clinician prediction of survival (CPS) and the association between CPS and the prognostic confidence of clinicians in ambulatory medical oncology outpatients. METHODS: Eight medical oncologists estimated the expected survival of their patients in a prospective cohort study. They were asked to provide a temporal type of CPS in weeks, together with their level of confidence for each prediction (0-100%). We analyzed the accuracy of CPS, the association between CPS and the prognostic confidence, and the characteristics of patients showing inaccurate CPS. RESULTS: A total of 200 advanced cancer patients were enrolled and the median overall survival was 7.6 months. CPS was accurate in 67 (33.5%) patients, underestimated in 87 (43.5%), and overestimated in 46 (23.0%). The overall accuracy of CPS for 12-week, 24-week, 36-week, and 48-week survival was 83.0%, 72.0%, 75.5%, and 74.0%, respectively. The specificity was highest for 12-week survival (90.2%) and the sensitivity was highest for 48-week survival (96.1%). The sensitivity of 12-week CPS was 51.4% and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.71-0.87). The prognostic confidence of clinicians was not significantly associated with the accuracy of prediction (P = 0.359). Patients with overestimated survival had significantly poorer global health status and physical/role/emotional functioning in the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). Additionally, they showed significantly higher levels of fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, and loss of appetite. CONCLUSION: The overall accuracy of CPS in predicting 12-week to 48-week survival was high in medical oncology outpatients. However the sensitivity of 12-week CPS was low and prognostic confidence was not associated with the accuracy of CPS. Patients with overestimated CPS showed poorer quality of life and higher symptom burden.

Risk Factors Related to Serious Adverse Drug Reactions Reported through Electronic Submission during Hospitalization in Elderly Patients.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have assessed the risk factors for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in elderly patients. However, most of these studies have focused on risk factors for ADRs, not serious ADRs (s-ADRs). s-ADRs are commonly found in hospitalized patients. s-ADRs warrant imminent but thorough investigations, given their critical impact on patient health. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to assess the associated risk factors for s-ADRs in elderly hospitalized patients. METHODS: In-patients aged >65 years having ADRs during hospitalization at a university hospital in Korea between 2010 and 2012 were included. Medical professionals spontaneously reported ADRs using an electronic submission system at the study hospital. Further, all descriptions of ADRs were characterized and categorized through the screening of electronic medical records. We compared the characteristics of patients having s-ADRs with those of patients not having s-ADRs. RESULTS: There were 353 cases of ADRs, 67 of which were s-ADRs. Patients taking more than eight concomitant drugs showed the highest odds ratio (OR, 11.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.42-42.03). The ratio of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was also significantly related to s-ADRs (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.33-5.81). The use of antibiotics (OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.13-5.02) and antineoplastics (OR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.09-15.94) were significant risk factors. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of polypharmacy. Liver function tests (AST/ALT ratio) must be monitored carefully within high-risk groups for ADRs.

Prevalence and severity of symptoms and signs in patients with advanced cancer in the last days of life: the East Asian collaborative cross-cultural study to elucidate the dying process (EASED).

PURPOSE: Few large-scale studies have focused on the prevalence of symptoms and signs during the last days of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer. Identifying the patterns of specific symptoms according to cancer type is helpful to provide end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer. We investigated the prevalence and severity of symptoms and signs associated with impending death in patients with advanced cancer. METHODS: In this secondary analysis of an international multicenter cohort study conducted in three East Asian countries, we compared the severity of symptoms and signs among dying patients in the last 3 days of life according to the type of primary cancer using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Post hoc analysis was conducted for multiple comparisons of each symptom according to the type of primary cancer. RESULTS: We analyzed 2131 patients from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The prevalence of most symptoms and signs were relatively stable from 1 week after admission to the last 3 days of life. According to cancer type, edema of the lower extremities was the most common symptom and fatigue/ ascites were the most severe symptoms in digestive tract cancer. For lung cancer, respiratory secretion was the most prevalent and dyspnea/respiratory secretion were the most severe symptoms. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the prevalence and severity of symptoms and signs associated with the impending death of patients with advanced cancer in East Asia. Our study can enable clinicians to recognize the specific symptoms and signs at the very end of life.

A Prognostic Model to Facilitate Palliative Care Referral in Oncology Outpatients.

PURPOSE: We aimed to develop a prognostic model to assist palliative care referral at least 3 months before death in advanced cancer patients treated at an outpatient medical oncology clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, a total of 200 patients were enrolled at a tertiary cancer center in South Korea. The major eligibility criterion was an expected survival of less than a year as estimated by their oncologists. We analyzed the influences of known prognostic factors along with chemotherapy status, mid-arm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness on survival time. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 64.5 years, 36% were female, and the median survival time was 7.6 months. In the multivariate analysis, we found 6 significant factors related to poor survival: a poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (≥2), not undergoing chemotherapy, anorexia, a low lymphocyte level (<12%), a high lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (≥300 IU/L), and a low mid-arm circumference (<23 cm). We developed a prognostic model (score, 0-8.0) to predict 3-month survival based on the multivariate analysis. Patients who scored ≥4.0 points had a short survival of less than 3 months (p<0.001). The discriminating ability of the prognostic model using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.88. CONCLUSION: The prognostic model using ECOG performance status, chemotherapy status, anorexia, lymphocytes, LDH, and mid-arm circumference can predict 3-month survival in medical oncology outpatients. It can alert oncologists to refer patients to palliative care specialists before it is too late.

"The surprise questions" using variable time frames in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Several studies supported the usefulness of "the surprise question" in terms of 1-year mortality of patients. "The surprise question" requires a "Yes" or "No" answer to the question "Would I be surprised if this patient died in [specific time frame]." However, the 1-year time frame is often too long for advanced cancer patients seen by palliative care personnel. "The surprise question" with shorter time frames is needed for decision making. We examined the accuracy of "the surprise question" for 7-day, 21-day, and 42-day survival in hospitalized patients admitted to palliative care units (PCUs). METHOD: This was a prospective multicenter cohort study of 130 adult patients with advanced cancer admitted to 7 hospital-based PCUs in South Korea. The accuracy of "the surprise question" was compared with that of the temporal question for clinician's prediction of survival. RESULTS: We analyzed 130 inpatients who died in PCUs during the study period. The median survival was 21.0 days. The sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy for the 7-day "the surprise question" were 46.7, 88.7, and 83.9%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy for the 7-day temporal question were 6.7, 98.3, and 87.7%, respectively. The c-indices of the 7-day "the surprise question" and 7-day temporal question were 0.662 (95% CI: 0.539-0.785) and 0.521 (95% CI: 0.464-0.579), respectively. The c-indices of the 42-day "the surprise question" and 42-day temporal question were 0.554 (95% CI: 0.509-0.599) and 0.616 (95% CI: 0.569-0.663), respectively. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Surprisingly, "the surprise questions" and temporal questions had similar accuracies. The high specificities for the 7-day "the surprise question" and 7- and 21-day temporal question suggest they may be useful to rule in death if positive.

High Cadmium Levels in Individuals with Depressive Mood: Results from the 2008-2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between cadmium (Cd) exposure and depression remains unclear. This nationwide study aimed to compare the levels of blood Cd with the presence of depressive mood in Korean adults. METHODS: From the 2008-2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 10,968 individuals over 20 yr old were identified. Data on demographics, health behaviors, depressive mood, and blood Cd (B-Cd) levels were used in the analysis. Estimated levels of B-Cd were drawn from multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Higher age-adjusted B-Cd levels were noted among women, rural residents, people who have a low economic or educational status, smoke currently, drink frequently, or have depressive mood than the counterpart groups. In fully adjusted models, men with depressive mood exhibited significantly higher B-Cd levels than those without depressive mood, and these levels were strongly mediated by smoking status. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest a need for Cd accumulation screening among individuals with depressive mood.

Factors related to spiritual well-being in the last days of life in three East Asian countries: An international multicenter prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Some factors associated with spiritual well-being in dying patients have previously been reported. However, there has been no cross-cultural study comparing factors related to spiritual well-being. The current investigation may shed light on this under-investigated area through a comparison of diverse factors. AIM: We aimed to (1) examine factors associated with spiritual well-being in the last days and (2) compare those factors across three East Asian countries. DESIGN: This is an international multicenter prospective cohort study. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Newly admitted inpatients with far advanced cancer in palliative care units in Japan, Korea and Taiwan were enrolled. Each patient was classified into one of two groups based on spiritual well-being score in the last days of life. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the factors related to better spiritual well-being score in each country. RESULTS: A total of 1761 patients treated at 37 palliative care units from January 2017 to September 2018 were analyzed. Seven variables were significant in Japan, three in Korea, and five in Taiwan. "Good death scale [acceptance]," "fatigue" and "expressed wish for hastened death" were unique in Japan. "Visit from a pastoral care worker within 48 h of death" was unique in Korea. "Patient's preferences for place of death," "dyspnea" and "continuous deep sedation" were unique in Taiwan. CONCLUSIONS: This study found novel factors related to spiritual well-being in the last days of life, several of which differed according to country. Recognition of factors associated with spiritual well-being can improve the quality of palliative care.

Development of a One-item Screening Question to Assess Spiritual Well-Being for Advanced Cancer Inpatients in Korea.

CONTEXT: Spiritual well-being (SWB) is significant for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Thus, shortened versions of questions would be helpful in approaching SWB. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to develop a one-item screening question to assess the SWB of advanced cancer inpatients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study involving adult advanced cancer inpatients from seven palliative care units in South Korea. The candidate one-item questions were three questions scored using numeric rating scales from 0 to 10: feeling at peace (Are you at peace?), self-rated spirituality (Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person?), and self-rated religiosity (Do you think of yourself as a religious person?). The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality 12 (FACIT-Sp-12) comprised of two subscales Meaning/Peace and Faith was used to assess SWB. Pearson's correlation test was conducted to determine the relationship between the three questions, the total FACIT-Sp-12 score, and its subscales. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients were enrolled. A strong correlation was observed between self-rated spirituality (r = 0.732 and 0.790; P < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively) and religiosity (r = 0.708 and 0.758; P < 0.001 and < 0.001 respectively) with the total FACIT-Sp-12 scores and faith subscale scores. Feeling at peace showed a moderate correlation with the total of FACIT-Sp-12 scores (r = 0.505, P < 0.01). All three questions had a moderate correlation with the meaning/peace subscale. CONCLUSION: Self-rated spirituality and religiosity showed better convergence validity than feeling at peace. Therefore, we recommend self-rated spirituality or religiosity as a one-item question for screening SWB in inpatients with advanced cancer.