Pettersson Gunilla, Berterö Carina, Unosson Mitra, Börjeson Sussanne
Department of Oncology, Ryhov County Hospital, 55185, Jönköping, Sweden,
Support Care Cancer. 2014 May;22(5):1171-9. doi: 10.1007/s00520-013-2069-z. Epub 2013 Dec 13.
Early detection and improvements in treatment have increased survival after colorectal cancer (CRC), but studies investigating the multidimensional nature of treatment-related symptoms are rare. The aim of this study was therefore to describe the prevalence, frequency, and severity of symptoms and the distress they cause during the early treatment of patients with CRC undergoing chemotherapy.
Consecutive outpatients were asked to rate their symptoms during cycle 2 or 3 of chemotherapy, using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale.
A total of 104 patients, 58 men and 46 women, evaluated their symptoms of the preceding week at one point during the treatment. The mean number of symptoms was 10.3 (SD, 7.7; range, 0-32). Highly prevalent symptoms were numbness/tingling in the hands/feet (64 %), lack of energy (62 %), feeling drowsy (49 %), and nausea (45 %). Symptoms with the highest scores for frequency, severity, and distress were lack of energy followed by difficulty in sleeping and numbness in the hands/feet. Lack of energy was noted as occurring almost constantly by 26 % and was rated as being severe or very severe by 12 % and as quite distressing or very distressing by 15 %.
This study shows that patients with CRC receiving chemotherapy experience several distressing symptoms early in the treatment phase. In order to provide symptom control, oncology staff should consider evaluating the patient's symptoms early during treatment and plan adequate measures to minimize the impact of treatment-induced toxicity.
早期检测和治疗的改进提高了结直肠癌（CRC）患者的生存率，但对治疗相关症状的多维性质进行研究的却很少。因此，本研究的目的是描述接受化疗的CRC患者在早期治疗期间症状的患病率、频率和严重程度以及这些症状所引起的痛苦。
连续的门诊患者被要求在化疗第2或3周期使用纪念症状评估量表对其症状进行评分。
共有104例患者，58例男性和46例女性，在治疗期间的某一时刻评估了他们前一周的症状。症状的平均数量为10.3（标准差7.7；范围0 - 32）。高度常见的症状是手脚麻木/刺痛（64%）、精力不足（62%）、嗜睡（49%）和恶心（45%）。频率、严重程度和痛苦得分最高的症状是精力不足，其次是睡眠困难和手脚麻木。26%的患者指出精力不足几乎持续存在，12%的患者将其评为严重或非常严重，15%的患者将其评为相当痛苦或非常痛苦。
本研究表明，接受化疗的CRC患者在治疗阶段早期会经历多种痛苦症状。为了控制症状，肿瘤学工作人员应考虑在治疗早期评估患者的症状，并制定适当措施以尽量减少治疗引起的毒性影响。
