Advanced cancer and COVID-19 comorbidity: medical oncology-palliative medicine ethics meetings in a comprehensive cancer centre.

OBJECTIVES: In managing patients with cancer in the COVID-19 era, clinical oncologists and palliative care practitioners had to face new, disrupting and complex medical situations, challenging the quality of the shared decision-making process. During the first lockdown in France, we developed an onco-palliative ethics meeting to enhance the quality of the decision-making process for patients with advanced cancer treated for COVID-19. METHODS: A least one of the institutional ethics committee members was present along with oncologists, palliative care teams, psycho-oncologists, radiologists and intensive care specialists. Specific medical parameters were systematically collected to form a standardised framework for the discussions. RESULTS: The main raised issues were the definition of new criteria for the implementation of invasive resuscitation techniques, optimal ways to adapt or delay anticancer treatment and best procedures to address terminal respiratory failure and end-of-life care. The main clinical and ethical guidelines that emerged during these debates are presented. The palliative care team played a major role in assessing and reporting patients' awareness of cancer-related prognosis and their wishes concerning invasive therapies or transfer to intensive care units, enabling an individualised benefit-risk balance assessment. The ethics committee members ensured continuous monitoring during the discussions. Their function was to recall the main ethical principles including dignity, which is conferred on people when there are treated as having equal status. CONCLUSIONS: The onco-palliative ethics meeting provided a powerful avenue for improvement of collegiality and reinforcement of teamwork, which could be a major protection against burnout for healthcare professionals facing an epidemic onslaught.

[Sophrology for patients in oncology]. / La sophrologie à la rencontre des patients en oncologie.

It is important to support patients with cancer during their care pathway and even beyond. They undergo long and difficult treatments, all anxiety-causing situations and sources of stress. Sophrological techniques help patients to find calm, lessen their fears and offer them the opportunity to work on themselves through simple easily reproducible exercises. This observation has been verified by a study carried out at the Institut Curie with patients undergoing chemotherapy.

[Twenty-five years of psycho-oncology in New York: a retrospective]. / Vingt-cinq ans de pratique psycho-oncologique à New York: une rétrospective.

This article offers a retrospective overview of 25 years of implementation of psycho-oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center. It shows the ways and means used to obtain a progressive development of this sub-specialty for the purpose of improving patients' quality of life and helping professional teams wishing to offer integrated care to patients and families. It justifies the pragmatic approach adopted in the English-speaking world, which is also flexible and suited to the somatic realities of cancer. The role of all the various professionals care is highlighted, as is the parallel development of clinical research hand in hand with clinical practice in the field. This has enabled the determination of the prevalence psycho-pathologies in the field of cancer, and demonstrated the need for early screening, and the instatement and evaluation of various specific interventions. Today, psycho-oncology is considered as a natural component of supportive care, but it should continue to develop alongside other specialities in order to help patients and families to cope with cancer better, both during and after treatment.

Screening for psychological distress in two French cancer centers: feasibility and performance of the adapted distress thermometer.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in French cancer patients. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a screening procedure using the Psychological Distress Scale (PDS). The PDS is a French adaptation of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer. The screening performance of the PDS was assessed by comparison with the established clinical case threshold on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). METHODS: Among 598 consecutive cancer outpatients recruited in two cancer centers in Paris, 561 (94%) agreed to complete the PDS, the HADS, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer core quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), and study-specific psychosocial questions. RESULTS: A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed, using a HADS cutoff score of 15 or greater to identify patients with psychological distress. This yielded a PDS cutoff score of 3, giving 76% sensitivity and 82% specificity. With this cutoff score, the prevalence of psychological distress was 38%. PDS scores were significantly related to scores from the HAD total scale (r=.64), HAD anxiety (r=.61) and HAD depression (r=.39) subscales, and EORTC QLQ-C30 emotional functioning (r=.56) and global health state (r=.44). In multivariate analyses, factors associated with psychological distress were female gender, taking analgesics, receiving professional psychological help, perceived psychosocial difficulties and lack of social support. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Using the PDS appeared feasible, acceptable and effective for psychological distress screening in French ambulatory cancer care settings.

[Psychological aspects of cancer Information dedicated to patients and relatives]. / Vivre pendant et après un cancer. Information à l'usage des personnes malades et de leurs proches.

In response to the evolution of the information-seeking behaviour of patients and concerns from health professionals regarding cancer patient information, the French National Federation of Comprehensive Cancer Centres (FNCLCC) introduced, in 1998, an information and education program dedicated to patients and relatives, the SOR SAVOIR PATIENT program (SSP). The methodology of this program adheres to established quality criteria regarding the elaboration of patient information. Cancer patient information, developed in this program, is based on clinical practice guidelines produced by the FNCLCC and the twenty French cancer centres, the National League against Cancer, The National Cancer Institute, the French Hospital Federation, the National Oncology Federation of Regional and University Hospitals, the French Oncology Federation of General Hospitals, many learned societies, as well as an active participation of patients, former patients and caregivers. The information and dialogue handbook SOR SAVOIR PATIENT Vivre pendant et après un cancer reporting on the psychological aspects of cancer was worked out and published on the Web in 2005. The guide aims to provide cancer patients with support and advice about the psychological impact of the disease. It provides information on the possible personal consequences of the disease and treatments, in every domain: psychological, emotional, interpersonal, familial or professional. Patients are also advised of the emotional challenges associated with cancer, of the support they may expect at every stage of the disease, from diagnosis to treatment, and of psychological outcome after the disease is over. The document also provides healthcare professionals with a valuable, concise source of validated information on the psychological aspects of cancer, thus facilitating communication between carers and patients. Information provided in the present article has been selected from the information and dialogue handbook SOR SAVOIR PATIENT Vivre pendant et après un cancer. The document addresses the issue of the psychological support made available to the patients during and after the disease. The SOR SAVOIR PATIENT guide can be downloaded from the FNCLCC website at: http://www.fnclcc.fr

[Development of relaxation techniques in oncology]. / Le développement des techniques de relaxation en oncologie.

The aim of this article is to answer a certain number of questions posed by medical staff in oncology concerning relaxation techniques and their implementation in cancer centers. At present, these techniques are underdeveloped in France but are recognized more and more in other countries, as noted by a recent meta-analysis. After having defined the relaxation techniques and their targeted actions, we present a series of studies which evaluated the efficacy of relaxation in various domaines: stress management, management of treatment side effects, and management of advanced cancerous disease symptoms. Relaxation techniques have many advantages, various indications specific to oncology, and few limits for their implementation. Finally, we formulate some questions and suggestions for improving practice and research of this technique in oncology.