Clinicians' and Patients' Perceptions and Use of the Word "Cured" in Cancer Care: An Italian Survey.

BACKGROUND: The words "hope" and "cure" were used in a greater number of articles and sentences in narrative and editorial papers than in primary research. Despite concomitant improvements in cancer outcomes, the related reluctance to use these terms in more scientifically oriented original reports may reflect a bias worthy of future exploration. This study aims to survey a group of physicians and cancer patients regarding their perception and use of the word cure. MATERIALS AND METHOD: An anonymous online and print survey was conducted to explore Italian clinicians' (the sample includes medical oncologists, radiotherapists, and oncological surgeons) and cancer patients' approach to the perception and use of the word "cure" in cancer care. The participants received an email informing them of the study's purpose and were invited to participate in the survey via a linked form. A portion, two-thirds, of questionnaires were also administered to patients in the traditional paper form. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 224 clinicians (54 oncologists, 78 radiotherapists, and 92 cancer surgeons) and 249 patients. The results indicate a favourable attitude for patients in favour of a new language ("cured" vs. "complete remission") of the disease experience. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the word cured is substantially accepted and equally shared by doctors and patients. Its use can facilitate the elimination of metaphoric implications and toxic cancer-related connotations registered in all cultures that discourage patients from viewing cancer as a disease with varied outcomes, including cure.

Italian survey on cetuximab-based therapy of elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: There is no consensus on the use of cetuximab in elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. To this end, a survey was carried in 17 Italian oncology centers. METHODS: The centers answered a 29-item questionnaire structured as follows: (i) demographic characteristics; (ii) medical history; (iii) assessment of RAS/BRAF mutations and DPD/UGT polymorphism before treatment; (iv) treatment schemes and side effects; (v) geriatric assessment and customization of treatment. RESULTS: One-third of patients are over 80 years old. The RAS/BRAF mutational status is not primarily evaluated by 17.6% of the centers, while DPD and UGT polymorphism is not evaluated by 82.4% and 76.5% of the centers. The most common therapeutic scheme is cetuximab/FOLFIRI and diarrhea is the main cause of suspension/reduction of treatment. The 70% of centers use systemic tetracyclines for skin toxicity. The 23.5% of the centers do not carry out any geriatric evaluation before the start of the therapy and those who perform it prefer the G8 (70.6%) and VES-13 (29.4%) scales. CONCLUSIONS: Greater efforts should be made to improve the evaluation of the patient both about mutational and genetic procedures with geriatric evaluation. As for cetuximab in elderly patients, randomized studies are needed to provide guidance to physicians.

Early colorectal cancer: diagnosis, treatment and survivorship care.

CRC is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. With advances in treatment, colorectal cancer is being transformed from a deadly disease to an illness that is increasingly curable. With this transformation has come increased interest in the unique problems, risks, needs, and concerns of survivors who have completed treatment and are cancer-free. They often suffer late/long-term side effects of therapies that may compromise their QoL such as fatigue, sleep difficulty, fear of recurrence, anxiety, depression, negative body image, sensory neuropathy, gastrointestinal problems, urinary incontinence, and sexual dysfunction. In this review, we discuss what is known about early colorectal diagnosis, staging, treatments and their long-term effects on quality of life and survivorship care.