title: Symptom Prevalence and Related Distress in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Much has been done to examine the psychological impact of cancer treatment, but it remains unclear to what extent anxiety and depression is related to symptom prevalence. The present study concerned the characteristics and frequency of distress as related to symptom prevalence in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 303 consecutive adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in an academic medical center. The short form Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS-SF), which covers three domains of symptoms (global distress, physical- and psychological symptoms) was used to cross-sectionally measure symptom frequency and associated distress via self-reporting. One-way ANOVA and t-tests were used to test mean differences among MSAS-SF subscale scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Complete data were available for 303 patients. The mean number of symptoms was 14.5. The five most prevalent were fatigue, dry mouth, hair loss, drowsiness and lack of appetite. Overall, symptom burden and frequency were higher than in other published MSAS-SF studies. Higher symptom frequency was also found to be significantly related to greater distress in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from multiple physical and psychological symptoms. Better symptom control or palliative care is needed. Greater frequency of reported symptoms may also indicate a subconscious bid by patients for care and reassurance - thus tailored intervention to manage distress should be offered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia E-mail : caryn.chan@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Muthukkumaran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thiagarajan
authors.forename: Caryn Mei Hsien
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Ho Gwo
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Fuang
authors.forename: Tan Seng
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Beng
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Atiliyana
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Yahaya
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D063189:Symptom Assessment
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents