Ovarian
cancer is 1 of the most common malignancies in the female reproductive
system. Identification of symptom clusters in ovarian cancer patients
may improve management of symptoms.
OBJECTIVE:
The
objective of this article is to explore the changes in symptom clusters
in ovarian cancer patients with adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery at
different time points.
METHODS:
Basic
details of the patients were documented and a longitudinal
investigation was carried out. We used the Memorial Symptom Assessment
Scale to examine 115 Chinese ovarian cancer patients' symptom experience
at 4 time points: days before chemotherapy (T1), chemotherapy cycle 1
(T2), chemotherapy cycle 3 (T3), and chemotherapy cycle 6 (T4). The
exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine the numbers and
components of symptom clusters.
RESULTS:
Symptom
clusters varied at different time points, which were classified as
pain-related symptom cluster, psychological symptom cluster, menopausal
symptom cluster, gastrointestinal symptom cluster, body image symptom
cluster, and peripheral neurologic symptom cluster. The gastrointestinal
symptom cluster and body image symptom cluster appeared at T1 and
remained consistent at T3 and T4, whereas the peripheral neurologic
symptom cluster was noted at T3 and T4.
CONCLUSIONS:
Clinicians
should prioritize symptom management interventions with ovarian cancer
patients to focus on the most severe symptom cluster: psychological
symptom cluster at T1, gastrointestinal symptom cluster at T2, and body
image symptom cluster at T3 and T4.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:
The
ability to predict symptom clusters in ovarian cancer patients
receiving chemotherapy may help to make optimized clinical decision in
advance to alleviate patients' symptoms and improve their life quality.
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