ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the levels of cancer related fatigue (CRF) and the correlations between CRF and serum inflammatory factors and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.Methods The CRF level was assessed by brief fatigue inventory (BFI).The level of C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured by immunoturbidimetry, and the level of cortisol was measured by electrochemiluminesence.The levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and norepinephrine (NE) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results The average total score of CRF was 3.15±1.93, and the degree was mild to moderate, which was positively correlated with the CRP (r=0.321, P=0.000), TNF-α (r=0.265, P=0.000), NE (r=0.174, P=0.015) and ACTH (r=0.257, P=0.000), but was not correlated with the cortisol (r=0.033, P=0.652).Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score (t=8.081, P=0.000), education (t=-4.244, P=0.000), treatment (t=4.563, P=0.000), time from diagnosis to sampling (t=3.453, P=0.001) and CRP (t=2.837, P=0.006) were important factors of CRF.Conclusion The CRF status is common in gastrointestinal cancer patients.The CRF is correlated with the NE and ACTH of HPA axis.Medical staff should pay attention to the inflammatory factors and hormone levels to improve the fatigue status and the quality of patients.
ABSTRACT
Fatigue is commonly experienced in patients with advanced kidney disease and associated with poor outcomes. The purpose of this review was to discuss the prevalence, assessment methods and contributing factors of fatigue in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and also examined possible interventions to improve fatigue and concludes by defining some future research directions.
ABSTRACT
Fatigue, which is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in cancer, can negatively impact the functional status and the health-related quality of life of individuals. Although awareness and study of CRF have grown in recent years,the biological mechanisms and risk factors that induce CRF remain unclear.This paper systematically reviews the available evidence on the biological mechanisms and the risk factors to guide the development of targeted, individualized interventions for cancer-related fatigue.