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Abstract Background Hospitalisation resulting from complications of systemic therapy and radiotherapy places a substantial burden on the patient, society, and healthcare system. To formulate preventive strategies and enhance patient care, it is crucial to understand the connection between complications and the need for subsequent hospitalisation. This review aimed to assess the existing literature on complications related to systemic and radiotherapy treatments for cancer, and their impact on hospitalisation rates. Methods Data was obtained via electronic searches of the PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Google Scholar online databases to select relevant peer-reviewed papers for studies published between January 1, 2000, and August 30, 2023. We searched for a combination of keywords in electronic databases and used a standard form to extract data from each article. The initial specific interest was to categorise the articles based on the aspects explored, especially complications due to systemic and radiotherapy and their impact on hospitalisation. The second interest was to examine the methodological quality of studies to accommodate the inherent heterogeneity. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023462532). Findings Of 3289 potential articles 25 were selected for inclusion with ~ 34 million patients. Among the selected articles 21 were cohort studies, three were randomised control trials (RCTs) and one study was cross-sectional design. Out of the 25 studies, 6 studies reported ≥ 10 complications, while 7 studies reported complications ranging from 6 to 10. Three studies reported on a single complication, 5 studies reported at least two complications but fewer than six, and 3 studies reported higher numbers of complications (≥ 15) compared with other selected studies. Among the reported complications, neutropenia, cardiac complications, vomiting, fever, and kidney/renal injury were the top-most. The severity of post-therapy complications varied depending on the type of therapy. Studies indicated that patients treated with combination therapy had a higher number of post-therapy complications across the selected studies. Twenty studies (80%) reported the overall rate of hospitalisation among patients. Seven studies revealed a hospitalisation rate of over 50% among cancer patients who had at least one complication. Furthermore, two studies reported a high hospitalisation rate (> 90%) attributed to therapy-repeated complications. Conclusion The burden of post-therapy complications is emerging across treatment modalities. Combination therapy is particularly associated with a higher number of post-therapy complications. Ongoing research and treatment strategies are imperative for mitigating the complications of cancer therapies and treatment procedures. Concurrently, healthcare reforms and enhancement are essential to address the elevated hospitalisation rates resulting from treatment-related complications in cancer patients.

The literature review evaluates the rehabilitation measures in the country's oncological institutions, assesses regulations in other countries, and scientific publications related to the rehabilitation of cancer patients. Studies were analysed using electronic databases PubMed, Medline, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, e-Library, RSL. Over 47,900 sources were found, of which 50 papers over the past ten years were selected and included in the article. The criteria for inclusion were the rehabilitation of cancer patients, stages of rehabilitation, pre-rehabilitation, nutritional support, psychological assistance, and quality of patients’ life. Considering the urgency of the problem, WHO 2017 took the initiative and adopted the Rehabilitation 2030 program, which provides expanding global access to high-quality rehabilitation as an essential health service for people with non-communicable diseases. According to summarized data, rehabilitation is based on the following principles: stage-by-stage process, consistency, complexity, and individual approach. The stages of medical rehabilitation of cancer patients include pre-rehabilitation; stage I – a period of specialized treatment; stage II – rehabilitation in a hospital setting after discharge; and stage III – early and late rehabilitation periods. An analysis of the situation in Tajikistan showed that in oncology-related institutions, rehabilitation of cancer patients is carried out within the framework of existing protocols for individual nosology, where a set of measures for the stages of rehabilitation is not sufficiently developed. A practical assessment of the effectiveness of rehabilitation is not set up. The stereotype about limiting the use of physiotherapy and sanatorium-resort treatment for cancer patients persists. There are no regulations for comprehensive rehabilitation of cancer patients. The need to optimize treatment results, prolong the survival of patients with various functional disorders, and improve the quality of life dictates the necessity for the development and systematic implementation of comprehensive rehabilitation of cancer patients.

Abstract Background Since the biological material that remains after diagnostic and therapeutic procedures plays crucial role in biobank research, this study aims to explore cancer patients’ views on the donation of biospecimens for research purposes. Methods 548 oncology patients from two hospitals with oncology treatment units in Poznan, Poland, completed an anonymous, self-administered pen-and-paper questionnaire. Results Although only 43.4% of patients had heard of biobanks, 93.1% declared themselves willing to donate. 71.1% of patients believed that doctors should ask patients to donate, and 60.9% that this should be done before the medical procedure. While 65% of patients were willing to donate any type of tissue that remained after a medical procedure, blood, saliva and hair were indicated most frequently. 40.5% of patients would donate their entire body after death and 21% would refuse. Patients’ support for biobanks was mainly driven by the desire to support science, help advance cancer research and altruism. Some respondents expected health information or medical treatment. The most common barriers for donation were physical distance, repeated examinations, concerns over the privacy and confidentiality of data and the commercial or unethical use of samples. Patients’ attitudes toward biobank donation seemed to be associated with age, education level, declared religiousness, a family history of genetically determined diseases and whether they were a blood donor. Conclusions Although cancer patients’ lack of biobank awareness had no effect on their affirmative attitudes towards biobank research, there is a need to further increase patients’ support and overcome possible barriers that might hinder their willingness to donate.

Cultural health attributions, beliefs, and perceptions towards health and illness influence the health-seeking behaviour and practices of cancer patients. The purpose of this paper is to consider the process through which the causal health attributes and the treatment-seeking processes of tobacco-related cancer patients were studied in the Barak Valley region of Assam. Unveiling the methodological issues in conducting the study, the paper outlines the dynamics of the hospital as a research setting. The paper also discusses the researcher’s engagement with the subject, the methods and tools used in the study by unfolding the processes of fieldwork.

Cultural health attributions, beliefs, and perceptions towards health and illness influence the health-seeking behaviour and practices of cancer patients. The purpose of this paper is to consider the process through which the causal health attributes and the treatment-seeking processes of tobacco-related cancer patients were studied in the Barak Valley region of Assam. Unveiling the methodological issues in conducting the study, the paper outlines the dynamics of the hospital as a research setting. The paper also discusses the researcher’s engagement with the subject, the methods and tools used in the study by unfolding the processes of fieldwork.

IntroductionDisrupted sleep and sleep-wake activity are frequently observed in cancer patients undergoing oncological treatment. These disruptions are often associated with aggravated symptom burden and diminished health-related quality of life that in turn may compromise treatment adherence and, thus, effectiveness. In addition, disrupted sleep has been linked to carcinogenic processes, which ultimately could result in worse prognostic outcomes.AimsOur aim was to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of studies examining the associations between sleep and sleep-wake activity and prognostic outcomes in cancer patients undergoing oncological treatment.MethodsA comprehensive systematic search of English language papers was undertaken in June 2020 using PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and CINAHL. Two reviewers independently screened 4,879 abstracts. A total of 26 papers were included in the narrative review. Thirteen papers reporting hazard ratios reflecting associations between a dichotomized predictor variable (sleep) and prognostic outcomes were subjected to meta-analysis.ResultsNineteen of the 26 eligible studies on a total of 7,092 cancer patients reported associations between poorer sleep and poorer response to treatment, shorter time to progression, and/or reduced overall survival, but were highly heterogeneous with respect to the sleep and outcome parameters investigated. Meta-analysis revealed statistically significant associations between poor self-reported sleep and reduced overall survival (HR = 1.33 [95% CI 1.09–1.62], k = 11), and shorter time to progression (HR = 1.40 [95% CI 1.23–1.59], k = 3) and between poor objectively assessed sleep and reduced overall survival (HR = 1.74 [95% CI 1.05–2.88], k = 4).ConclusionThe current findings indicate that disturbed sleep during treatment may be a relevant behavioral marker of poor cancer prognosis. The limited number of studies, the common use of single item sleep measures, and potential publication bias highlight the need for further high quality and longitudinal studies.

Narrative therapy, as one of the psychological intervention modalities in humanistic medicine, has received increasing attention from scholars in various fields. This paper reviews the concept origin and development of narrative therapy, the application of narrative therapy in psychological interventions for cancer patients, and the advantages and limitations of narrative therapy, with the aim of providing a theoretical basis for clinical research on narrative therapy interventions for cancer patients. (叙事疗法是人文医学心理干预方式之一, 越来越受到各个领域学者的重视。本文从叙事疗法的概念起源及发展、叙事疗法在癌症患者心理干预中的应用、叙事疗法的优势与局限性3个方面进行综述, 以期为叙事疗法干预癌症患者心理情绪的临床研究提供理论基础。)

Paraneoplastic conditions such as cancer cachexia are often exacerbated by chemotherapy, which affects the patient’s quality of life as well as the response to therapy. The aim of this narrative review was to overview the body-composition-related changes and molecular effects of different chemotherapy agents used in cancer treatment on skeletal-muscle remodeling. A literature search was performed using the Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct databases and a total of 77 papers was retrieved. In general, the literature survey showed that the molecular changes induced by chemotherapy in skeletal muscle have been studied mainly in animal models and mostly in non-tumor-bearing rodents, whereas clinical studies have essentially assessed changes in body composition by computerized tomography. Data from preclinical studies showed that chemotherapy modulates several molecular pathways in skeletal muscle, including the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, autophagy, IGF-1/PI3K/Akt/mTOR, IL-6/JAK/STAT, and NF-κB pathway; however, the newest chemotherapy agents are underexplored. In conclusion, chemotherapy exacerbates skeletal-muscle wasting in cancer patients; however, the incomplete characterization of the chemotherapy-related molecular effects on skeletal muscle makes the development of new preventive anti-wasting strategies difficult. Therefore, further investigation on molecular mechanisms and clinical studies are necessary.

Ongoing concerns regarding the morbidity and mortality from cancer-associated thrombosis led the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC), the voice of cancer patients across Europe, to create a pan-European cancer-associated awareness patient survey to assess cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) knowledge among a large population of patients with cancer. The ECPC survey represents the largest of its kind among patients/caregivers with CAT. It identified significant gaps in patient awareness and knowledge of CAT as well as a need for educational CAT-related discussions and interventions between healthcare professionals and patients with cancer and their caregivers. The aim of this paper is to highlight these gaps and to provide awareness of what/when information should be shared with patients/caregivers. Notably, the importance of providing information on how to reduce their risk of CAT, the role of anticoagulant prophylaxis and treatment (short- and long-term) including possible side-effects, and finally how to identify CAT symptoms early. Here we outline what type of information should be provided, as well as when and how to best discuss CAT with our oncology patients and their caregivers along the cancer care continuum, to reduce the risk of CAT and associated complications with a goal of improving patient outcomes.

This paper presents a multi-professional integrated approach toward the recognition and management of the nutritional and psychological needs of cancer patients. In particular, the patients undertook a multi-professional, multistep process that included the collection of both personal and clinical data, the evaluation of anthropometric measures, nutritional status and psychometric indices, and an ensuing personalized nutritional prescription and psychological support, ultimately leading to combined nutritional and psychological interventions to control their adherence to a nutritional program and to consolidate motivation to change. Overall, 120 patients were recruited for the study. The majority (84.2%) were female. Breast cancer was by far the most frequent malignancy (52.5%), followed by colorectal (17.5%), pancreatic (9.2%), ovarian (9.2%) and lung (5.0%) cancers. The results of the nutritional and psychological screening at baseline indicated that only 35% of patients had a normal BMI, whilst a relatively high proportion (nearly 32%) was overweight or obese (25%). The INRAN and MEDI-LITE questionnaires, which were used to assess the eating habits and adherence to a Mediterranean diet, respectively, revealed a mixed prevalence of cereals/cereal-based, fresh/processed meat, and fish or fishery food, with a medium–low adherence to the Mediterranean diet in nearly 38% of patients. The BUT, HADS and SF-36 tests, which were used to assess psychological disturbances, showed that 37.5% of patients had disorders regarding body image, 29.2% had abnormal anxiety and 20.0% had a depressive state, while no significant association was observed between the SF-36 PCS and MCS and the patients′ characteristics. The results of the potential impact of this novel approach on the QoL of patients after completion of the course are awaited with expectation.