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
. 2023 Jun;24(6):565-579.
doi: 10.1007/s11864-023-01081-4. Epub 2023 Apr 11.

Current Management Options for Dyspnea in Cancer Patients

Affiliations
Review

Current Management Options for Dyspnea in Cancer Patients

Masanori Mori et al. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Dyspnea is one of the most frequent and distressing symptoms in patients with advanced cancer. As dyspnea deteriorates patients' quality of life markedly and tends to worsen as the disease progresses, comprehensive assessment and timely treatment of the underlying etiologies are essential. International guidelines recommend various non-pharmacological and pharmacological management options. However, there is a scarcity of confirmatory clinical trials on cancer dyspnea, and the overall level of evidence is weak. Recently, observational and survey studies indicated a wide range of practice patterns of palliative care specialists, providing important insight into the real-world management of dyspnea. In this paper, we summarize current management options for dyspnea in cancer patients, highlight major controversies in the literature, and propose future research directions toward quality care for patients with dyspnea and their families.

Keywords: Care; Dyspnea; Etiology; Pharmacological management.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

References and Recommended Reading

    1. Solano JP, Gomes B, Higginson IJ. A comparison of symptom prevalence in far advanced cancer, AIDS, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and renal disease. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2006;31:58–69. - PubMed - DOI
    1. Hui D, dos Santos R, Chisholm GB, Bruera E. Symptom expression in the last seven days of life among cancer patients admitted to acute palliative care units. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2015;50:488–94. - PubMed - DOI
    1. Imai K, Morita T, Yokomichi N, et al. Efficacy of proportional sedation and deep sedation defined by sedation protocols: a multicenter, prospective, observational comparative study. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021;62:1165–74.
    1. Yokomichi N, Yamaguchi T, Maeda I, et al. Effect of continuous deep sedation on survival in the last days of life of cancer patients: a multicenter prospective cohort study. Palliat Med. 2022;36:189–99. - PubMed - DOI
    1. Smith EL, Hann DM, Ahles TA, et al. Dyspnea, anxiety, body consciousness, and quality of life in patients with lung cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2001;21:323–9. - PubMed - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources