Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between symptom experience and quality of life （QOL） in cancer outpatients receiving molecular targeted therapy. Participants were 29 cancer outpatients （mean age：63.9 years） receiving anti‒EGFR targeted therapy. Data were collected from a self‒administered questionnaire and the patients’ medical records. The questionnaire included items on the patient’s background, symptom experience （symptom severity and symptom interference items from the Japanese version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory, and skin symptom severity items）, and QOL （Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs；QOL‒ACD）.

Data analyses clarified the relationship between symptom experience and QOL in cancer outpatients. Significant inverse correlations were observed between：“symptom severity items” and four QOL subscales ［Daily‒life activities（rs＝－.75；p＜.01）, Physical condition（rs＝－.58；p＜.01）, Psychological condition（rs＝－.44；p＜.05）, Social attitude（rs＝－.47；p＜.05）］；“symptom interference items” and the zd scale（ rs＝－.43；p＜.05）, and four QOL subscales ［Daily‒life activities （rs＝－.78；p＜.01）, Physical condition（rs＝－.56；p＜.01）, Psychological condition（rs＝－.64； p＜.01）, Social attitude（rs＝－.55；p＜.01）］；“skin symptom severity items” and two QOL subscales ［Daily‒life activities（rs＝－.54；p＜.05）, Physical condition（rs＝－.60；p＜.01）］.

These findings suggest the importance of providing continued symptom management for cancer outpatients receiving molecular targeted therapy in order to improve their QOL.

Abstract

The present study aimed to measure and clarify correlations between specific experiences, self‒management, self‒efficacy and quality of life （QOL） in order to suggest nursing interventions to increase self‒efficacy and QOL among post‒operative gastroenterological cancer patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy.

The survey was conducted by interviewing 61 gastroenterological cancer patients （mean age, 65.6 ±10.8 years） receiving outpatient chemotherapy following surgery for colon cancer （n＝38, 62.3 ％） or stomach cancer （n＝23, 37.7 ％）. A total of 43 patients （70.5 ％） reported subjective symptoms. Many patients reported changes in nutritional state and excretion, and psychosocial changes were experienced by a large proportion of patients, including asymptomatic, Performance Status 0 patients. With regard to self‒management ability, only a small proportion of patients had acquired the ability to assess behavioral outcomes. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was observed between self‒management ability and self‒efficacy among patients with subjective symptoms （r＝.338）.

The present findings indicate the need for nursing involvement to enable patients to appropriately assess the outcome of their own behavior. The self‒management ability survey items developed during the present study can be used as an intervention index during such nursing intervention.