Development of quality of life questionnaire in Japan: quality of life assessment of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

The Japanese Quality of Life Research Group has developed a general questionnaire suitable for assessing the Quality of Life (QOL) in patients undergoing chemotherapy. The questionnaire covers four major categories: (1) daily activities, (2) physical condition, (3) social activities, and (4) mental and psychological status. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Performance Status (PS) were used as external measures of quality of life and for the validation of our tool. On the basis of two basic surveys and two studies we selected 22 questions from a larger set of items. Validity and reliability were verified for the final 22-question form. This questionnaire, named the QOL Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs (QOL-ACD), can be used to detect changes in QOL over time. Its use as an additional outcome measure in Phase III chemotherapy trials should be encouraged.

Peripheral lung cancer: screening and detection with low-dose spiral CT versus radiography.

PURPOSE: To compare low-dose spiral computed tomography (CT) with radiography of the chest for the screening and detection of small peripheral lung cancers in a high-risk population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Posteroanterior and lateral radiographs and low-dose spiral CT scans were obtained twice a year from September 1993 to April 1995 in 1,369 individuals (a total of 3,457 examinations) who were at high risk for lung cancer. Low-dose spiral CT parameters were 120 kvP, 50 mA, 10-mm collimation, and 2:1 pitch. RESULTS: Peripheral lung cancer was detected in 15 of 3,457 examinations (0.3%). Among the 15 cases, the results of chest radiography were negative in 11 (73%), and the tumors were detected only at low-dose spiral CT. The detection rates of low-dose spiral CT and chest radiography were 0.43% (15 of 3,457 examinations), respectively. Fourteen (93%) of the 15 (exclusion of one pulmonary lung cancer) tumors were stage I. CONCLUSION: Low-dose spiral CT was superior to chest radiography in the screening and detection of peripheral lung cancer in high-risk individuals. Further large-scale studies are warranted, however, to clarify the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of low-dose spiral CT in a randomized, controlled population.

[A comprehensive fact finding study of home care elderly for planning of the community based rehabilitation system in Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture].

An interview survey was held with the purpose of grasping the problems faced by the home care elderly living in Koga city in Ibaraki prefecture. The subjects of the study were 100 cases who had been registered as elderly requiring home care in the municipality. The main results were as follows: (1) The most frequent underlying disorders that were considered as causes of disabilities in the home care elderly were cerebrovascular diseases, senile dementia and external injuries. In 67 percent of the subjects, one of these three disorders had caused the disabilities. (2) Disabilities in self care activities and in mobility were closely related to each other and the order of the difficulty in performing these activities was similar in many cases. A large number of the subjects sustaining severe disabilities expressed discontent with their daily life. (3) Forty two percent of the subjects were so-called bedridden elderly who got out of bed for less than 3 hours a day. The Barthel index score was 60 or less in all of the bedridden subjects. (4) For most of the bedridden elderly, bed rest was not required and probably exacerbated the disuse syndrome. In order to ameliorate their condition, adequate rehabilitation programs and assistance in their daily activities need to be offered. (5) Seventy eight percent of the care givers complained about the burden of care. Those who had no assistant care giver complained more frequently. Many of the care givers complaining about their burden had their own health problems. (6) The utilization of social welfare services were not always without any problems. The number of the experts who can deal with the psychosocial aspects in the elderly should be increased in order to improve the situation.

A new antitumor antibiotic FR66973: clonogenic in vitro assessment of activity against human non-small cell lung carcinoma.

We have utilized a human tumor clonogenic assay (HTCA), as a disease-oriented drug screening model of new antitumor drugs, to test the antitumor activity of FR66973 and compared the activity with that of its analogous compound, mitomycin C. The overall in vitro response rate (defined as less than 50% survival of tumor colony forming units) for FR66973 against fresh tumor cells obtained from patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) was 32%, 50% and 89% at 0.1, 1 and 10 micrograms/ml, respectively, which was superior to that of mitomycin C at the corresponding concentration. Our data suggest that FR66973 is a promising new drug against NSCLC. If phase I toxicities are not prohibitive, FR66973 may also have good activity against NSCLC in clinical phase II trial.