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. 2015 Mar;9(1):1-10.
doi: 10.1007/s11764-014-0379-x. Epub 2014 Jul 15.

Neuropathic symptoms, quality of life, and clinician perception of patient care in medical oncology outpatients with colorectal, breast, lung, and prostate cancer

Desiree Jones  1 , Fengmin Zhao, Joanna Brell, Mark A Lewis, Charles L Loprinzi, Matthias Weiss, Michael J Fisch
Affiliations

Neuropathic symptoms, quality of life, and clinician perception of patient care in medical oncology outpatients with colorectal, breast, lung, and prostate cancer

Desiree Jones et al. J Cancer Surviv. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: We investigated how treatment-induced neuropathic symptoms are associated with patients' quality of life (QOL) and clinician-reported difficulty in caring for patients.

Methods: Data were obtained from 3,106 outpatients with colorectal, breast, lung, or prostate cancer on numbness/tingling (N/T), neuropathic pain, and QOL. Clinicians reported the degree of difficulty in caring for patients' physical and psychological symptoms.

Results: For all patients, moderate to severe N/T was associated with poor QOL (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.47-2.26, P < 0.001) but neuropathic pain was not (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 0.94-1.83, P = 0.114). Moderate to severe N/T and neuropathic pain were associated with increased care difficulty (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.27-1.74, P < 0.001 for N/T, and OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.15-1.84, P = 0.002 for neuropathic pain). The association of neuropathic pain with care difficulty was most significant in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) (OR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.41-3.83, P = 0.001). Baseline neuropathic pain was associated with declining QOL in CRC patients (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.21-3.58, P = 0.008).

Conclusions: Clinicians may experience increased care difficulty for patients of all cancer types with moderate to severe N/T or neuropathic pain; care difficulty due to neuropathic pain may be higher for CRC patients. Nearly half the patients of all cancer types with moderate to severe N/T may expect poor short-term QOL; CRC-but not other-patients with baseline neuropathic pain are likely to experience declining QOL.

Implications for cancer survivors: About half of patients with moderate to severe N/T (any cancer type) may expect poor QOL in the short term; CRC patients with baseline neuropathic pain in particular may experience declining QOL.

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Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURES/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors reported no disclosures or conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1A. Distribution of QOL by Severity of N/T and Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment Figure 1B. QOL Change by Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment by Disease Site Figure 1C. Distribution of Difficulty in Caring for Patients by Severity of N/T and Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1A. Distribution of QOL by Severity of N/T and Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment Figure 1B. QOL Change by Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment by Disease Site Figure 1C. Distribution of Difficulty in Caring for Patients by Severity of N/T and Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1A. Distribution of QOL by Severity of N/T and Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment Figure 1B. QOL Change by Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment by Disease Site Figure 1C. Distribution of Difficulty in Caring for Patients by Severity of N/T and Presence of Neuropathic Pain at the Initial Assessment
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of Patients Prescribed Some Type of Treatment for Nerve Pain at the Initial Assessments (all patients) by Cancer Type and Severity of N/T
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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