Symptom prevalence, intensity, and distress in patients with inoperable lung cancer in relation to time of death.
OBJECTIVE
To examine symptom prevalence, intensity, and association with distress in patients with inoperable lung cancer (LC), using time to death as point of reference.


METHODS
A consecutive sample of 400 patients completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 plus a 13-item LC-specific scale and the Thurstone Scale of Symptom Distress-Lung Cancer at six time points during the first year after diagnosis. Patients were divided into subgroups, using data from the time point closest to death (< 1; 1 to 2; > 2 to 3; > 3 to 6; > 6 to 12; and > 12 months before death) for analysis.


RESULTS
More than 50% of patients in all subgroups reported problems related to physical, role, and emotional functioning; fatigue; dyspnea; and cough. In general, functional levels were lower and symptoms higher in subgroups closer to death. Notably, clinically relevant differences were also found in role and social functioning and appetite loss between the two groups furthest from death. A consistent pattern was found among the six subgroups, with breathing, pain, and fatigue rated as the symptoms most associated with distress.


CONCLUSIONS
High prevalence of symptoms was found in all subgroups, with higher intensity in subgroups closer to death, indicating a need for prophylactic and proactive symptom management. Less concordance was found among symptom prevalence, intensity, and association with distress in subgroups further from death. Future studies should investigate longitudinal associations between symptoms with low intensity and high distress, and examine their clinical implications.
Tishelman
Carol
C
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet; Research and Development Unit, Stockholms Sjukhem Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden. carol.tishelman@ki.se
Petersson
Lena-Marie
LM
Degner
Lesley F
LF
Sprangers
Mirjam A G
MA
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D013997:Time Factors