Randomized clinical trial quantifying the effectiveness of a self-monitoring intervention in cancer patients with peripheral neuropathy: A quantitative study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the efficacy of a self-monitoring intervention for the management of persistent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 65 outpatients receiving taxane or platinum-based anticancer drugs. Participants were assigned to the control group (CG; n â€‹= â€‹32) or the self-monitoring group (SMG; n â€‹= â€‹33) and followed for 6 weeks. Non-interveners were blinded. Participants in the intervention group self-monitored and recorded. The researchers provided feedback on the recorded symptoms and coping strategies once every 3 weeks. The efficacy of the 6-week self-monitoring intervention was assessed, using various measures, at baseline (T0), 3 weeks (T1), and 6 weeks (T2). Scores of CIPN, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity, Distress and Impact Thermometer, Self-Efficacy Scale for Advanced Cancer, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General of both groups were compared. Safety behavior in daily life was also compared. The study was conducted from August 9, 2017 to March 30, 2020 in outpatient clinics at three hospitals. Analysis was conducted using the t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 test, and two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (two-way RMANOVA). Results: No significant differences were noted between the two groups in the CIPN score, the Distress and Impact Thermometer score, and in safety behavior in daily life. The mean Self-Efficacy Scale for Advanced Cancer score at T1 differed between the two groups (CG mean â€‹± â€‹SD: 358.44 â€‹± â€‹109.90; SMG mean â€‹± â€‹SD: 421.21 â€‹± â€‹85.54), which was significantly higher in the SMG (P â€‹= â€‹0.012). Two-way RMANOVA revealed an interaction between the CG and SMG (F â€‹= â€‹5.689, P â€‹= â€‹0.004). Quality of life scores were higher in the SMG than in the CG at T0, T1, and T2. Two-way RMANOVA analysis showed an effect of the intervention (F â€‹= â€‹7.914, P â€‹= â€‹0.007). Conclusions: The self-monitoring intervention maintained the participants' quality of life. This finding suggests its effectiveness in patients with peripheral neuropathy.

Non-pharmacological interventions for cancer-related fatigue in terminal cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a highly distressing symptom in patients with cancer. Although various interventions have been reported to reduce fatigue, few are available for use in terminally ill cancer patients, and it is unknown which interventions are effective. They are also often difficult to implement in terminally ill patients with cancer. We, therefore, assessed the recommended interventions to reduce CRF in terminally ill cancer patients. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched to identify studies published between January 2015 and March 2021. The inclusion criteria were terminally ill cancer patients; non-pharmacological interventions; studies in which usual care or control groups were compared, or comparisons were made prior to the post-intervention period; studies in which the primary outcome was fatigue scale or symptom scale (including those measuring fatigue on a subscale); and experimental study designs including randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies. A summary of the data extracted from each study was created. We also conducted a meta-analysis of the RCTs. RESULTS: A total of 1,954 publications were identified from the initial database, eight of which were included in this study. Three RCTs and five non-RCTs were included in the final evaluation. Most of the studies had a small number of participants. We conducted a meta-analysis of two of the three RCTs included in this study. There was insufficient evidence to determine the effects of the interventions compared to the controls [standard mean difference, -0.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.48 to 0.37; two studies; 290 participants; I2=65%]. CONCLUSIONS: Few reports exist on non-pharmacological interventions for patients with terminal cancer and there was insufficient evidence to determine the effect of the interventions on fatigue. This highlights the lack of RCTs on non-pharmacological procedures and therapies for reducing fatigue.

Prefrontal activation during two Japanese Stroop tasks revealed with multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy.

The Stroop task is sometimes used in psychiatric research to elicit prefrontal activity, which presumably reflects cognitive functioning. Although there are two Stroop tasks (Kana script and Kanji script) in Japan, it is unclear whether these tasks elicit the same hemoglobin changes. Moreover, it is unclear whether psychological conditions or characteristics influence hemoglobin changes in the Japanese Stroop task. The aim of this study was to clarify whether hemoglobin changes elicited by the two Japanese Stroop tasks accurately reflected cognitive functioning. Hemoglobin changes were measured with multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in 100 healthy Japanese participants performing two Japanese Stroop tasks. The Beck-Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) were administered to participants to identify psychological conditions or personality characteristics. Compared with the Kanji task, the Kana task produced a greater Stroop effect and a larger increase in oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration. Moreover there were no significant correlations between oxy-Hb concentration and BDI, STAI-trait, STAI-state, or MOCI scores. Therefore we found that a participant's psychological conditions or characteristics did not influence the hemodynamic changes during either task. These data suggest the Kana Stroop task is more useful than the Kanji Stroop task for NIRS studies in psychiatric research.

Development of the Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale: Testing its reliability and validity.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop the Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale (HCFS) to assess the fatigue experienced by cancer patients, and to verify its reliability and validity. METHODS: Based on qualitative research about the perception of fatigue by Japanese cancer patients, we developed a questionnaire. The content validity was confirmed by 5 expert oncology nurses and 5 oncologists. 281 Japanese cancer patients participated in this study. Construct validity was analyzed using factor analysis, and internal consistency was analyzed using Cronbach's α coefficient. RESULTS: A 15-item scale with 3 dimensions, "physical/mental sensation", "activity-related sensation" and "cognitive sensation," was developed by factor analysis. This scale had an overall Cronbach's α coefficient of .943 and a test-retest reliability coefficient of r = .820 (p < 0.01), confirming the high reliability of the scale. The correlation coefficient was r = .759 (p < 0.01) between HCFS and abridged Profile of Mood States-Fatigue (POMS-F), and r = .763 (p < 0.01) between HCFS and Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS), both showing high correlations and confirming criterion-related validity. CONCLUSION: HCFS enables reliable and valid evaluation of Japanese cancer patients' fatigue. Use of the HCFS would assist in convenient self-evaluation of fatigue, and would allow information to be effectively provided to healthcare professionals. It could also be used for outcome evaluation in an intervention study.

Association of autism tendency and hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex during facial expression stimuli measured by multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy.

AIM: The aim of this study is to examine the hemodynamic changes induced by the cognitive process of facial expression by using multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy in healthy subjects with varying degrees of autism tendency. METHODS: Subjects were 38 volunteers, 20 men and 18 women. Autism tendency was measured by the Autism Spectrum Quotient. The hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex were measured by 24-channel near-infrared spectroscopy system, while subjects were asked to judge their own emotional response to standardized pictures of eight kinds of facial expressions on a computer screen. RESULTS: There were significant negative correlations between Autism Spectrum Quotient scores and accuracy of fearful expression recognition as well as increases in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in response to four kinds of emotional faces (fear, contempt, sadness and disgust). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the greater tendency to autism that subjects have, the more difficulty they have in recognizing a fearful expression and the less hemodynamic change in the prefrontal cortex they show in response to negative facial expressions.