KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the distinct patterns and predictors of fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbance among ovarian cancer patients undergoing chemo.
- Researchers noticed diverse symptom patterns in fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbance among OC patients highlighting the need for targeted interventions to alleviate symptom burden during chemo.
Yue Feng and the team aimed to investigate distinct patterns within the symptom cluster of fatigue, sleep, and pain disturbance among ovarian cancer (OC) patients undergoing chemotherapy (chemo), to determine factors predicting these patterns and their impact on quality of life.
Researchers performed an inclusive analysis of data from 151 OC patients across three time points which were before chemo (T0), after the first chemo cycle (T1), and following the completion of four cycles of chemo (T2). Latent profile analysis and latent transition analysis were utilized to identify symptom patterns and evaluate changes. A bias-adjusted three-step approach examined predictor variables and distal outcomes associated with latent class membership.
About three distinct symptom patterns emerged: “All Low,” “Moderate” (T0)/”Low pain and high sleep disturbance” (T1 and T2), and “All High.” Patients with lower educational attainment and higher levels of anxiety and depression exhibited an elevated risk of belonging to the “All High” class. All quality-of-life domains displayed significant differences among the three subgroups, following an “All Low” > “All High” pattern (P < 0.05). Membership in the three classes remained relatively stable over time, with probabilities of 0.749 staying within their groups from T0 to T2.
The study concluded that a diverse and stable experience exists within the symptom cluster of fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbance among ovarian cancer patients throughout chemo. Recognizing and understanding these patterns could inform the development of targeted interventions to alleviate symptom cluster burdens in this population.
The study was sponsored by Department of Nursing of West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38545759/
Feng Y, Lin T, Liu X, et al. (2024). “A longitudinal study of symptom cluster latent profiles in ovarian cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.” Cancer Med. 2024 Apr;13(7):e7139. doi: 10.1002/cam4.7139. PMID: 38545759; PMCID: PMC10973880.
