Do-not-resuscitate consent signed by patients indicates a more favorable quality of end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer.

PURPOSE: Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) consent is crucial in end-of-life (EOL) care for patients with advanced cancer. However, DNR consents signed by patients (DNR-P) and surrogates (DNR-S) reflect differently on patient autonomy and awareness. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled advanced cancer patients treated at National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch between 2012 and 2014. Patients who signed DNR consent at other hospitals were excluded; the remaining patients were subsequently classified into DNR-S and DNR-P groups. RESULTS: We enrolled 1495 patients. The most prevalent primary cancers were hepato-biliary-pancreatic (26.9 %), lung (16.3 %), and colorectal (14.0 %) cancers. We classified 965 (64.5 %) and 530 (35.5 %) patients into the DNR-S and DNR-P groups, respectively. Significant differences were observed between both groups regarding gender (p = 0.002), age (p < 0.001), and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance (p < 0.001) and educational (p < 0.001) status levels. The median survival times after DNR consent signature were 5.0 days (95 % confidence interval [CI] 4.4-5.6 days) and 14.0 days (95 % CI 12.1-15.9 days) in the DNR-S and DNR-P groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The median good death evaluation (GDE) scores were 5.4 (95 % CI 4.9-6.0) and 13.7 (95 % CI 12.7-14.6) in the DNR-S and DNR-P groups, respectively (p < 0.001). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that DNR-S was an independent factor for significantly low GDE scores (i.e., poor EOL care quality). CONCLUSION: The DNR concept is emerging; however, the DNR-P percentage remains low (35.6 %) in patients with advanced cancer. DNR-P significantly improves the EOL care quality.

Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type in Taiwan: a relatively higher frequency of T-cell lineage and poor survival for extranasal tumors.

Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, is a predominantly extranodal lymphoma associated with Epstein-Barr virus occurring most frequently in the upper aerodigestive tract. There are limited reports on cellular origin and prognostic factors. We retrospectively investigated 73 cases with a median age of 54 years and a male-female ratio of 2.0:1. The upper aerodigestive tract (nasal group) was the most common site of involvement (51 cases; 70%). The other organs (n = 22; extranasal group) included the skin (12 cases; 16%) and gastrointestinal tract (5; 7%). Of the 70 cases with complete staging, 71% had stage I/II disease. All cases were positive for Epstein-Barr virus by in situ hybridization. Using immunohistochemistry and clonality assay for T-cell receptor gene rearrangement, these tumors were classified into NK (n = 39; 53%), T (n = 13; 18%), and indeterminate lineage (n = 21; 29%). The only clinicopathological difference among these 3 groups was rare CD5 expression in the NK-cell group. Nasal tumors were more frequently of NK-cell origin, and extranasal tumors were equally of either T- or NK-cell origin. The 5-year overall survival rate was 35.6%. The overall survival time was shorter in the extranasal group, although there was no statistical difference in age, sex, and histologic or immunophenotypic features between the 2 groups. Excluding the cases with indeterminate lineage, 75% of cases were of NK lineage; and 25%, T lineage. Extranasal tumors were more aggressive than their nasal counterparts. A prospective national study is warranted for a better understanding of the clinicopathological and genetic features of this uncommon tumor and the prognostic factors.

[Spiritual care model for terminal cancer patients].

Providing spiritual care to patients with advanced cancer may improve the quality of life of these patients and help them experience a good death. Cancer patients are eager for additional spiritual care and for a sense of peace at the end of their life. However, spirituality is an abstract concept. The literature on spiritual care focuses primarily on elaborations of spirituality theory. Thus, first-line medical care professionals lack clear guidelines for managing the spiritual needs of terminal cancer patients. The purposes of this article were to: 1) introduce a spiritual care model based on the concept of repair and recovery of relationships that addresses the relationship between the self and God, others, id, and objects and 2) set out a four-step strategy for this model that consists of understanding, empathizing, guiding, and growing. This article provides operational guidelines for the spiritual care of terminal cancer patients.

Insights into Chinese perspectives on do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders from an examination of DNR order form completeness for cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Discussing end-of-life care with patients is often considered taboo, and signing a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order is difficult for most patients, especially in Chinese culture. This study investigated distributions and details related to the signing of DNR orders, as well as the completeness of various DNR order forms. METHODS: Retrospective chart reviews were performed. We screened all charts from a teaching hospital in Taiwan for patients who died of cancer during the period from January 2010 to December 2011. A total of 829 patient records were included in the analysis. The details of the DNR order forms were recorded. RESULTS: The DNR order signing rate was 99.8%. The percentage of DNR orders signed by patients themselves (DNR-P) was 22.6%, while the percentage of orders signed by surrogates (DNR-S) was 77.2%. The percentage of signed DNR forms that were completely filled out was 78.4%. The percentage of DNR-S forms that were completed was 81.7%, while the percentage of DNR-P forms that were completely filled out was only 67.6%. CONCLUSION: Almost all the cancer patients had a signed DNR order, but for the majority of them, the order was signed by a surrogate. Negative attitudes of discussing death from medical professionals and/or the family members of patients may account for the higher number of signed DNR-S orders than DNR-P orders. Moreover, early obtainment of signed DNR orders should be sought, as getting the orders earlier could promote the quality of end-of-life care, especially in non-oncology wards.