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Management of Side Effects of Cancer Treatments: New Approaches

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A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Survivorship and Quality of Life".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 4576

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Martine Berliere

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium
Interests: post-mastectomy and post-breast surgery pain syndrome; side effects of endocrine treatment of breast cancer; prevalence of polyneuropathy; hypnosis sedation used to decrease side effects of cancer treatments

Dr. Francois P. Duhoux

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc and Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium
Interests: quality of life; patient-reported outcomes; response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy; genetic predisposition to cancer; novel therapeutic approaches for breast cancer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advances in cancer screening and more efficient, multidisciplinary treatments have generated better survival rates in cancer patients. With the increasing number of cancer survivors, attention is now turning to the side effects and possible long-term sequelae of cancer therapies. The management and reduction of cancer treatment-associated side effects are increasingly important in maintaining patients’ quality of life and optimizing outcomes.

Cancer-related treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, endocrine therapy and, more recently, immunotherapy, contribute to the burden of side effects experienced by patients: pain, polyneuropathy, cancer-related fatigue, chemo brain, etc.

Pharmacological interventions can sometimes provide relief but are primarily effective for the short-term management of symptoms, rather than providing a long-term solution. Importantly, many pharmaceutical interventions do not address the underlying cause of many symptoms. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for the side effects of the various treatments used in the management of cancer must therefore be a priority for caregivers.

New therapeutic approaches to correctly manage cancer-related side effects are very important for patients and challenging for clinicians.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in our Special Issue and to submit manuscripts.

This Special Issue aims to highlight research work performed to challenge and decrease the side effects of cancer treatments.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Original studies reporting the use of supportive care to decrease the side effects of cancer treatments;
Studies and research exploring the mechanisms involved in the side effects of cancer treatments;
Studies and research dedicated to novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to decrease the side effects of cancer treatments and increase the quality of life of patients.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Martine Berliere
Dr. Francois P. Duhoux
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

cancer treatment-associated side effects
pain
cancer-related fatigue
polyneuropathy
chemo brain
cancer-related cognitive impairment
quality of life
innovative therapeutic approaches

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 6055 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From a Clustering of Adverse Symptoms after Colorectal Cancer Therapy to Chronic Fatigue and Low Ability to Work: A Cohort Study Analysis with 3 Months of Follow-Up

by Tomislav Vlaski, Marija Slavic, Reiner Caspari, Bettine Bilsing, Harald Fischer, Hermann Brenner and Ben Schöttker

Cancers 2024, 16(1), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16010202 - 1 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1070

Abstract

In colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, apart from fatigue, psychological and physical symptoms often converge, affecting their quality of life and ability to work. Our objective was to ascertain symptom clusters within a year following CRC treatment and their longitudinal association with persistent fatigue and reduced work ability at the 3-month follow-up. We used data from MIRANDA, a multicenter cohort study enrolling adult CRC patients who are starting a 3-week in-patient rehabilitation within a year post-curative CRC treatment. Participants completed questionnaires evaluating symptoms at the start of rehabilitation (baseline) and after three months. We performed an exploratory factor analysis to analyze the clustering of symptoms at baseline. Longitudinal analysis was performed using a multivariable linear regression model with dichotomized symptoms at baseline as independent variables, and the change in fatigue and ability to work from baseline to 3-month-follow-up as separate outcomes, adjusted for covariates. We identified six symptom clusters: fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms, pain, psychosocial symptoms, urinary symptoms, and chemotherapy side effects. At least one symptom from each factor was associated with higher fatigue or reduced ability to work at the 3-month follow-up. This study highlights the interplay of multiple symptoms in influencing fatigue and work ability among CRC patients post-rehabilitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Side Effects of Cancer Treatments: New Approaches)

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16 pages, 8671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Skin Extracellular Matrix Breakdown Following Paclitaxel Therapy in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

by Nathan P. Staff, Sybil C. Hrstka, Surendra Dasari, Enrico Capobianco and Sandra Rieger

Cancers 2023, 15(16), 4191; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15164191 - 21 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1474

Abstract

The chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel causes peripheral neuropathy, a dose-limiting side effect, in up to 68% of cancer patients. In this study, we investigated the impact of paclitaxel therapy on the skin of breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), building upon previous findings in zebrafish and rodents. Comprehensive assessments, including neurological examinations and quality of life questionnaires, were conducted, followed by intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density evaluations using skin punch biopsies. Additionally, RNA sequencing, immunostaining for Matrix-Metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13), and transmission electron microscopy provided insights into molecular and ultrastructural changes in this skin. The results showed no significant difference in IENF density between the control and CIPN patients despite the presence of patient-reported CIPN symptoms. Nevertheless, the RNA sequencing and immunostaining on the skin revealed significantly upregulated MMP-13, which is known to play a key role in CIPN caused by paclitaxel therapy. Additionally, various genes involved in the regulation of the extracellular matrix, microtubules, cell cycle, and nervous system were significantly and differentially expressed. An ultrastructural examination of the skin showed changes in collagen and basement membrane structures. These findings highlight the presence of CIPN in the absence of IENF density changes and support the role of skin remodeling as a major contributor to CIPN. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Side Effects of Cancer Treatments: New Approaches)

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Other

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20 pages, 1451 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Effectiveness of Therapeutic Education in Patients with Cancer Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Ana María González-Martín, Iván Aguilera-García, Yolanda Castellote-Caballero, Yulieth Rivas-Campo, Antonio Bernal-Suárez and Agustín Aibar-Almazán

Cancers 2023, 15(16), 4123; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15164123 - 16 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1079

Abstract

(1) Objective: To review the existing evidence on pain education in patients with pain derived from an oncological process. (2) Methods: A systematic review was conducted using the databases Pubmed, Web of Science, PEDro, and Scopus. The selected studies had to incorporate instruction about the neurophysiology of pain into their educational program. The target population was cancer patients who had suffered pain for at least one month. The methodological quality of the articles collected was assessed using the PEDro scale. (3) Results: Some 698 studies were initially identified, of which 12 were included in this review. Four different models of pain education programs were found in the studies’ interventions. Pain intensity, pain experience, quality of life, pain tolerance, and catastrophism were the variables that appeared most frequently. (4) Conclusions: This review demonstrates that pain education in patients with cancer pain may produce effects such as decreased pain intensity and catastrophism. Knowledge about pain also seems to increase. However, no benefit was reported for patients’ overall quality of life. Therefore, more research is needed to clarify the effects of these interventions on the oncology population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Side Effects of Cancer Treatments: New Approaches)

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