A Systematic Review on Reporting of Methods in National Surveys about Adults' Attitudes to Lifestyle and Environmental Risk Factors for Cancer.

The risks of developing cancer are significantly affected by our lifestyle and environment. While there are several uncontrollable risk factors, we can modify our lifestyle and our environment to reduce the increased threat of cancer. This systematic review aims to evaluate the methodological assessment used to evaluate attitudes about cancer risk factors among the general population. Two researchers independently screened the articles for inclusion and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists were used to assess the methodology of the included studies. Thirty-one manuscripts met the inclusion criteria with a majority of them focusing on attitudes to several cancer risk factors and six on specific cancer location risk factors. This systematic review highlights the diversity of notions used around attitudes and methods used in the method of administering the survey, as well as the format of the questions and the response scales. It is thus difficult to compare data between different countries. However, cancer is a global problem. Harmonizing methods could allow a comparison of data between countries. Recommendations to this effect are suggested.

Health-related quality of life in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: A systematic review on reporting of methods in randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have recently shown tremendous promise in the treatment of diverse cancers. The available data suggests that ICIs are well tolerated in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) compared to other anticancer therapies. However, it appears that instruments currently used to evaluate HRQOL in this context may fail to capture important symptomatology unique to ICIs. This systematic review was designed to assess the adequacy of methods used to report HRQOL in cancer patients treated with ICIs and to identify the quality of life scales used. METHOD: A systematic review was performed (systematic registration number: PROSPERO: CRD42019121427). A search of the PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences collection, and SocINDEX databases was carried out for publications in English and in French. Relevant databases were searched from the earliest records through to March 2019. Publications were selected if they reported on HRQOL in patients with cancer treated by ICIs. Risk of bias was scored using the Cochrane Collaboration bias assessment tool. RESULTS: Our search identified 144 publications between 2012 and 2019, of which 15 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The results suggest that even though the overall reporting of HRQOL was deemed to be of good quality, the data available was marred by methodological aspects such as the lack of HRQOL research hypotheses and the lack of questionnaires validated for cancer patients treated with immunotherapy. CONCLUSION: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the art and identifies gaps in knowledge on HRQOL analysis with respect to ICIs. It also suggests avenues for further research.

Quality of life and fatigue among colorectal cancer survivors according to stoma status - the national VICAN survey.

Objective: To assess colorectal cancer survivors' quality of life (QoL) and fatigue according to stoma status.Methods: In this large-scale national survey, we examined and compared QoL (SF-12) and fatigue (QLQ-C30) of colorectal cancer survivors according to stoma status and against population norms. Of the 487 colorectal cancer survivors who participated in the VICAN survey, 43 had a reversed stoma. We randomly selected 43 survivors without stoma as a comparison group.Findings: Colorectal cancer survivors had lower QoL scores compared to population norms. Fatigue affected survivors even two years after diagnosis. Participants with a reversed stoma scored lower on the physical QoL scale than participants without stoma.Conclusion: QoL and fatigue are impaired during a considerable period after cancer diagnosis and differ according to stoma status.Implications for psychosocial providers: Interventions aimed at improving QoL and fatigue for colorectal cancer survivors should be offered on a long-term basis, even two years after diagnosis.

[Time perspective and quality of life in rectal cancer patients: An exploratory study]. / Perspective temporelle et qualité de vie des patients atteints d'un cancer du rectum : une étude exploratoire.

The impact of rectal cancer on patient quality of life has been investigated but no research has yet examined the impact of time perspective in the assessment of quality of life of rectal cancer patients. Our goal is to explore the links between quality of life and time perspective and the role of time perspective as a determinant of quality of life. Data were collected from 69 patients who completed a questionnaire comprising a specific measure of quality of life (FACT-C), a measure of time perspective (ZTPI), a measure of emotional distress (HADS) and a collection of socio-demographic and medical data. Regression analyses revealed that present fatalist, past positive and future time perspective predicted quality of life. Present fatalist time perspective seemed to have a deleterious impact on specific measure of rectal cancer quality of life. Present fatalist and future time perspective predicted a better emotional quality of life whereas past positive predicted a worse emotional quality of life. These results suggest the importance of considering time perspective as a determinant of psychological quality of life in order to improve the QoL of patients.

Patient education interventions for colorectal cancer patients with stoma: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the various types of patient education interventions for colorectal cancer patients with stoma and to examine their effects on quality of life, psychosocial skills and self-management skills. METHODS: A systematic review was performed. Six electronic databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were: studies about patient education applying quantitative methods including digestive stoma adults with colorectal cancer. The primary outcome was quality of life. Secondary outcomes were psychosocial and self-management skills. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were identified and included. Five studies examined quality of life and three reported improvements. Patient education improved some psychosocial and self-management skills. Contrasting findings were reported for specific-disease quality of life, emotional distress, length of hospital stay, stoma complications and readmission rate. CONCLUSIONS: Patient education has a positive impact on some psychosocial and self-management skills, indicating that this area should be developed. Contrasting findings were reported for quality of life. Methodologies are heterogeneous making it difficult to produce evidence-based guidelines. This article proposes tools to carry out further studies on this subject and to improve understanding. PRACTICE IMPLICATION: Further education intervention for stoma patients with colorectal cancer should be standardized in terms of intervention, duration and outcome measures to compare intervention and determine best practice.