J Pain Symptom Manage. 2014 Jun 26. pii: S0885-3924(14)00342-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.06.003. [Epub ahead of print]

Symptom Prevalence in Lung and Colorectal Cancer Patients

Walling AM, Weeks JC, Kahn KL, Tisnado D, Keating NL, Dy SM, Arora NK, Mack JW, Pantoja PM, Malin JL.

This United States based study looked at the incidence of symptoms from 5422 patients with lung (n=2411) and colorectal cancer (n=3011) diagnosed four to six months earlier. Over 90% of patients reported at least one symptom in the four weeks before questioning, with over 50% reporting at least one moderate or severe symptom. Patients with lung cancer reported more symptoms than those with colorectal cancer. Patients who received treatment (such as chemotherapy) or had more comorbidities were more likely to report symptoms including those of a moderate or severe intensity. Stage of disease did not impact on patients experiencing at least one symptom (over 98% in lung cancer and around 90% in colorectal cancer) and only marginally affected one or more moderate/severe symptom reporting. Depressive symptoms existed in over 70% of patients in both groups, increasing in late stage disease, fatigue was equally problematic. Cough and dyspnoea each had a prevalence of 80% in both early and late stage lung cancer. This study indicated the need for a thorough symptom assessment and management in patients with cancer, irrespective of the stage of disease.

Prepared by Jason Boland