Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Dec;34(5):472-485.
doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2018.10.006. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Pilot Study to Describe the Trajectory of Symptoms and Adaptive Strategies of Adults Living with Low-grade Glioma

Mary Lou Affronti, Dina Randazzo, Eric S Lipp, Katherine B Peters, Susan C Herndon, Sarah Woodring, Patrick Healy, Christina K Cone, James E Herndon 2nd, Susan M Schneider
Review

Pilot Study to Describe the Trajectory of Symptoms and Adaptive Strategies of Adults Living with Low-grade Glioma

Mary Lou Affronti et al. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the adaptability to the patterns in symptoms and quality of life (QoL) during 6 months post low-grade glioma diagnosis by valid and reliable tools; to identify through qualitative interviews patient/provider adaptive techniques and strategies; and to assess associations among patient characteristics, symptoms and QoL, and adaptive techniques or strategies.

Data sources: Demographic, clinical and pathologic data from medical records. Validated instruments that assess QoL, fatigue, depression, and distress were completed at 2, 4, and 6 months post diagnosis. Qualitative interviews identifying the symptoms, challenges, adaptive techniques and strategies were conducted at 4 and 6 months.

Conclusion: The most frequently used adaptive strategies included: obtaining community support (87%), managing expectations (73%) and support systems (67%), and seeking out knowledge about physical (67%) and behavioral symptoms (53%). Seizures were reported with IDH1mut (11%) but not IDH1wildtype. Patients with either IDH1mut or TERTmut consistently reported lower QoL and higher distress, depression, and fatigue scores. IDH1/TERTmut may be related to lower QoL because of IDH1mut-related seizures.

Implications for nursing practice: Findings provide a list of adaptive strategies and characteristics to address the problems and symptoms that may improve overall QoL in patients with low-grade glioma.

Keywords: adaptive leadership; glioma; quality of life; symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
QoL reported over time stratified by IDH1 and TERT status. Abbreviations: FACT-Br, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain; FACIT, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy.
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.
QoL reported over time stratified by 1p19q status and sex. Abbreviations: FACT-Br, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain; FACIT, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Liu R, Page M, Solheim K, Fox S, Chang SM. Quality of life in adults with brain tumors: current knowledge and future directions. Neuro Oncol. 2009;11:330 339. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thakkar JP, Dolecek TA, Horbinski C, et al. Epidemiologic and molecular prognostic review of glioblastoma. Cancer Epi demiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014;23:1985 1996. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ostrom QT, Gittleman H, Fulop J, et al. CBTRUS statistical report: primary brain and central nervous system tumors diagnosed in the United States in 2008–2012. Neuro Oncol. 2015;17(suppl 4):iv1 iv62. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Claus EB, Walsh KM, Wiencke JK, et al. Survival and low-grade glioma: the emergence of genetic information. Neurosurg Focus. 2015;38:E6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thygeson M, Morrissey L, Ulstad V. Adaptive leadership and the practice of medicine: a complexity-based approach to reframing the doctor-patient relationship. J Eval Clin Pract. 2010;16:1009 1015. - PubMed

Publication types