Fear of Cancer Recurrence or Progression: What Is It and What Can We Do About It?

Patients with cancer face a trajectory marked by emotional and physical distress that can be associated with both diagnosis and treatment. Fear of cancer recurrence or progression has been considered one of the most common unmet needs reported by patients diagnosed with both localized and metastatic disease. Fear of cancer recurrence or progression has been defined as the "fear, worry, or concern relating to the possibility that cancer will come back or progress." Often overlooked by health care teams, fear of cancer recurrence or progression has been associated with impaired quality of life and psychosocial adjustment, elevated emotional distress, and a range of physical symptoms. Several interventions for fear of cancer recurrence or progression are currently under investigation. Early recognition, support, and validation of feelings associated with fear of cancer recurrence or progression, and appropriate referrals to psychosocial oncology, can be beneficial for many patients. Assessing patients early in their cancer trajectory, and at important milestones, including a change in therapies, at the end of active treatment, and during follow-up visits, can help identify individuals at risk and help individuals engage in supportive programs.

Biomarkers of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Current Status and Future Directions.

Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is an often severe and debilitating complication of multiple chemotherapeutic agents that can affect patients of all ages, across cancer diagnoses. CIPN can persist post-therapy, and significantly impact the health and quality of life of cancer survivors. Identifying patients at risk for CIPN is challenging due to the lack of standardized objective measures to assess for CIPN. Furthermore, there are no approved preventative treatments for CIPN, and therapeutic options for CIPN remain limited once it develops. Biomarkers of CIPN have been studied but are not widely used in clinical practice. They can serve as an important clinical tool to identify individuals at risk for CIPN and to better understand the pathogenesis and avenues for treatment of CIPN. Here we review promising biomarkers of CIPN in humans and their clinical implications.

Bleeding due to acquired dysfibrinogenemia as the initial presentation of multiple myeloma.

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are at risk for acquired dysfibrinogenemia resulting in laboratory abnormalities and/or bleeding complications. We describe a 63-year-old man who presented with bleeding diathesis in the presence of a low fibrinogen activity level with a normal fibrinogen antigen level. Further studies revealed elevated levels of lambda free light chains, and he was diagnosed with MM. Despite initiating treatment with bortezomib/dexamethasone, he continued to have recurrent bleeds along with hypofibrinogenaemia, prompting a switch to carfilzomib/dexamethasone. The patient responded with improvement in bleeding symptoms, normalisation of fibrinogen activity and a decrease in serum free light chains.