TY - JOUR
T1 - Trajectories and predictors of symptom occurrence, severity, and distress in prostate cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy
AU - Knapp, Katie
AU - Cooper, Bruce
AU - Koetters, Theresa
AU - Cataldo, Janine
AU - Dhruva, Anand
AU - Paul, Steven M.
AU - West, Claudia
AU - Aouizerat, Bradley E.
AU - Miaskowski, Christine
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research ( NR04835 ). Dr. Aouizerat was funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap for Medical Research Grant ( KL2 RR624130 ). Dr. Miaskowski is funded by the American Cancer Society as a clinical research professor. Dr. Dhruva is funded through NIH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award ( K23 AT005340 ). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - Context. Radiation therapy (RT) is a common treatment for prostate cancer. Despite available research, prostate cancer patients report that information about side effects is their most important unmet need. Additional research is needed that focuses on specific dimensions of the patient's symptom experience. Objectives. The study's purposes were to evaluate the trajectories of occurrence, severity, and distress of the six most prevalent symptoms reported by patients undergoing RT for prostate cancer and the effects of selected demographic and clinical characteristics on these trajectories. Methods. Patients completed the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale 11 times before, during, and after RT. For problems with urination, pain, lack of energy, feeling drowsy, difficulty sleeping, and diarrhea, the trajectories of occurrence, severity, and distress were evaluated using multilevel generalized linear models. Results. Across all three dimensions, pain, lack of energy, feeling drowsy, and difficulty sleeping followed a decreasing linear trend. Problems with urination and diarrhea demonstrated more complex patterns of change over time. Conclusion. Although longitudinal data on pain, lack of energy, feeling drowsy, and difficulty sleeping are limited, they are highly prevalent symptoms in these patients. In addition, diarrhea becomes a significant problem for these patients over the course of RT. A number of demographic and clinical characteristics affect the trajectories of these common symptoms differentially.
AB - Context. Radiation therapy (RT) is a common treatment for prostate cancer. Despite available research, prostate cancer patients report that information about side effects is their most important unmet need. Additional research is needed that focuses on specific dimensions of the patient's symptom experience. Objectives. The study's purposes were to evaluate the trajectories of occurrence, severity, and distress of the six most prevalent symptoms reported by patients undergoing RT for prostate cancer and the effects of selected demographic and clinical characteristics on these trajectories. Methods. Patients completed the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale 11 times before, during, and after RT. For problems with urination, pain, lack of energy, feeling drowsy, difficulty sleeping, and diarrhea, the trajectories of occurrence, severity, and distress were evaluated using multilevel generalized linear models. Results. Across all three dimensions, pain, lack of energy, feeling drowsy, and difficulty sleeping followed a decreasing linear trend. Problems with urination and diarrhea demonstrated more complex patterns of change over time. Conclusion. Although longitudinal data on pain, lack of energy, feeling drowsy, and difficulty sleeping are limited, they are highly prevalent symptoms in these patients. In addition, diarrhea becomes a significant problem for these patients over the course of RT. A number of demographic and clinical characteristics affect the trajectories of these common symptoms differentially.
KW - Distress
KW - Occurrence
KW - Pain
KW - Piecewise modeling
KW - Prostate cancer
KW - Radiation therapy
KW - Severity
KW - Symptom predictors
KW - Symptom trajectories
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.10.020
DO - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.10.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 22771128
AN - SCOPUS:84869238615
SN - 0885-3924
VL - 44
SP - 486
EP - 507
JO - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
JF - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
IS - 4
ER -