Quality of Life and Its Associated Factors in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving One Course of Transarterial Chemoembolization Treatment: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

After completing this course, the reader will be able to:1. List the top 10 ranked symptoms after discharge suffered by patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment.2. Identify the significant factors in the associations between quality of life (QOL) and demographic factors and clinical factors over a period of 2 months in patients with HCC receiving TACE.3. Design individualized education programs for newly diagnosed and recurrent HCC patients in order to maintain better QOL after treatment.This article is available for continuing medical education credit at CME.TheOncologist.com. CME CME ABSTRACTObjective. To (a) explore changes in physical and psychological distress and quality of life (QOL) and (b) identify the significant pre-and postdischarge factors related to changes in physical and mental domains of QOL over a period of 2 months in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving one course of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment. Methods. A longitudinal prospective design was used, with participants recruited from a teaching hospital in Northern Taiwan. Data were collected three times: within 3 days prior to discharge (T0) and at the fourth (T1) and eighth (T2) weeks after discharge. A set of structured questionnaires was used to assess participants' QOL, symptom distress, anxiety, and depression. Changes in QOL and associated factors were examined using generalized estimating equations.Results. Eighty-nine patients were included in this study. Fatigue was reported to be the most distressful symptom after treatment. Overall QOL improved monthly after discharge.

Pilot randomized trial of selective internal radiation therapy vs. chemoembolization in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

“…In this study, single‐session SIRT was as well tolerated and effective as multiple sessions of selective TACE . These findings are consistent with recent reports of non‐altered or improved HRQoL after selective TACE and after SIRT . Beyond the findings of the recently published data on the HRQoL at week 2 and 4 after treatment , this study also provides supplementary information on the relative impact of these intra‐arterial therapies at week 12.…”

Management of Postembolization Syndrome Following Hepatic Transarterial Chemoembolization for Primary or Metastatic Liver Cancer

“…Although PES is recognized within the TACE literature as a common adverse event that impacts on patients' QOL 6,11 and contributes to increases in postprocedure hospital LoS, the management of PES is overlooked perhaps in the understanding that it is an inevitable and expected outcome for patients. 1,2 There is little research that seeks to identify strategies to better manage post-TACE PES and thus improve patient QOL and potentially other adverse outcomes of treatment, and no existing reviews have been identified on this topic.…”

Development and Validation of the Simplified Chinese Version of EORTC QLQ-HCC18 for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…However, very few Chinese QOL instruments are available even more and more clinicians are concerned with the QOL of patients with HCC in China (7,(12)(13)(14)(15), and the Chinese is the largest population in the world. To our knowledge, there are no reports on the development of the simplified Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-HCC18.…”