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New analgesics in cancer pain
Purpose of review Cancer pain continues to be a significant problem despite the range of analgesic and adjuvant medications available. The purpose of this review is to explore the most recent developments in the management of cancer pain. Recent findings Tapentadol, launched in the United Kingdom in May 2011, represents the last new analgesic entity with a novel mode of action to enter clinical practice for moderate-to-severe pain. Recent evidence describes the benefit of duloxetine for cancer-related neuropathic pain, and parecoxib by continuous subcutaneous infusion for refractory cancer pain. There is interes...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - June 1, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: PAIN: CANCER: Edited by Anthony H. Dickenson and Paul Farquhar-Smith Source Type: research

Cancer pain during an epidemic and a pandemic
Purpose of review As our global population ages, cancer has become more prevalent. Thankfully, oncologic treatments are highly effective, leading to significantly improved rates of long-term survival. However, many of these therapies are associated with persistent pain syndromes. Clinicians caring for people with cancer must understand how the influence of the current epidemic of opioid misuse and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have complicated cancer pain management. Creative solutions can emerge from this knowledge. Recent findings Persistent pain due to cancer and its treatment can be manage...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - June 1, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: PAIN: CANCER: Edited by Anthony H. Dickenson and Paul Farquhar-Smith Source Type: research

Editorial introductions
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care)
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - June 1, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTIONS Source Type: research

Emerging treatment options for bacillus Calmette–Guérin-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
Purpose of review The majority of new bladder cancer diagnoses are non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). For patients with intermediate-risk and high-risk NMIBC, the preferred treatment after transurethral tumor resection is bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) intravesical therapy; however, some patients receiving BCG do not respond and are at risk for recurrence and progression to muscle invasive disease. Currently, there is a lack of bladder-sparing therapies for patients that do not respond to BCG therapy. This review highlights recent advances in bladder-sparing therapies for NMIBC that do not respond to BCG th...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: SPECIAL COMMENTARY Source Type: research

Postoperative delirium in older patients with cancer: the role of psychological distress and social support
Purpose of review Delirium is a common and important adverse event in the perioperative period. Older people with cancer are at significant risk, and outcomes are poor. There is increasing awareness of the effect of psychological distress and social support on pathogenesis and outcomes of delirium in this setting. This review aimed to describe recent research in this evolving area. Recent findings Across six recent studies of postoperative delirium in older people with cancer, delirium incidence ranged from 8 to 19.8%. Poor social support and high levels of distress are implicated in the development of postopera...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Older patients’ and their caregivers’ understanding of advanced care planning
Purpose of review The aim of this study was to review the recent literature (2019–2021) on older patients’ and their caregivers’ understanding of advance care planning. Recent findings Recent studies highlight the continued gaps in knowledge about advance care planning for older adults with cancer and their caregivers both domestically and abroad. The recent literature also revealed that there is a lack of research methodology to assess knowledge of advance care planning reliably and validly in older adults with cancer and their caregivers given the lack of uniform scales to measure knowledge of advance ca...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Geriatric assessment-informed treatment decision making and downstream outcomes: what are the research priorities?
The objective of this review is to summarize the evidence supporting use of GA to facilitate decision making and improve outcomes and identify gaps that need to be addressed to further bolster the rationale for the use of GA. Recent findings Recently several randomized controlled studies exploring the impact of GA-directed care have been reported. Although GA-directed care has not been shown to improve survival, it can decrease moderate to severe toxicity from chemotherapy, increase the likelihood of completing planned chemotherapy and improve quality of life without adversely affecting survival. In the surgical set...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Finding value with prehabilitation in older persons receiving surgery
Purpose of review Patients presenting for surgery are increasingly older and frail. Prehabilitation offers the best hope of preemptive functional optimisation to improve postoperative outcomes. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses show signals of improved function and reduced complications and length of stay, but are hampered by small trials with heterogeneous nature of interventions. Recent findings The value proposition for prehabilitation is strengthened by applying the following considerations to the evidence. Multimodal prehabilitation programmes incorporating elements of exercise, nutrition, and psychologi...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Initiating early palliative care for older people with advanced cancer and its barriers
Purpose of review Early palliative care (EPC) is known to generally improve both health-related quality of life (QoL) and symptom intensity at small effect sizes. However, it is unclear whether EPC is effective in older people, a population that is notoriously unaccounted for. This review summarizes the recent evidence concerning the efficacy of EPC in older patients with advanced cancer and delineates existing barriers to accessing respective services. Recent findings The search for studies published in MEDLINE from January 2020 to September 2021 yielded six relevant records. Data from a recent feasibility tria...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Impact of COVID-19 on care of older adults with cancer: a narrative synthesis of reviews, guidelines and recommendations
Purpose of review The aim of this study was to summarize the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on older adults with cancer, including both the impacts of COVID-19 diagnosis on older adults with cancer and the implications of the pandemic on cancer care via a synthesis of reviews, guidelines and other relevant literature. Recent findings Our synthesis of systematic reviews demonstrates that older adults with cancer are prone to greater morbidity and mortality when experiencing concurrent COVID-19 infection. Current evidence related to the association between anticancer treatment and COVID-19 prognosis for olde...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Editorial: Supportive and palliative care for older adults with cancer
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care)
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: GERIATRIC ONCOLOGY: Edited by Ines B. Menjak, Christopher Steer and Schroder Sattar Source Type: research

Editorial introductions
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care)
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - February 2, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTIONS Source Type: research

l-Menthol – a new treatment for breathlessness?
Purpose of review In patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it is challenging to treat breathlessness. In addition, novel palliative interventions are required for multiple perspectives of breathlessness that may still be present after disease-specific therapies. This review provides an overview of the mechanisms and effects of l-menthol on breathlessness by covering the latest relevant papers. Recent findings A literature review identified one randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of l-menthol on relieving breathlessness in patients with COPD. It has been reported that t...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - December 1, 2021 Category: Palliative Care Tags: RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS: Edited by Magnus Ekström and Morag Farquhar Source Type: research

Metastasectomy in kidney cancer: current indications and treatment approaches
Purpose of review Although systemic agents for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) have improved survival, remission and cure for mRCC remains rare with systemic therapy alone. However, there is a body of observational evidence supporting a survival benefit in mRCC among patients who undergo complete surgical consolidation including resection of the primary tumor and all metastatic deposits. In this review, we aim to synthesize recent evidence regarding metastasectomy (MTS), with or without concurrent systemic therapy, in mRCC. Recent findings MTS is a critical component of mRCC patient care,...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - November 17, 2021 Category: Palliative Care Tags: RENAL AND UROLOGICAL PROBLEMS: Edited by Fred Saad and Andrea Kokorovic Source Type: research

Cachexia and bladder cancer: clinical impact and management
Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to describe the causes, management, and clinical outcomes associated with cachexia and related components including sarcopenia, among patients with bladder cancer (BCa). Recent findings Cachexia in patients with BCa is associated with poorer outcomes after radical cystectomy (RC), radiation, and chemotherapy. Nutritional supplements and novel pharmaceutical agents including magnolol, flucoidan and Anamorelin are currently undergoing investigation for their potential use in BCa patients with cachexia. Summary Cachexia is a hypercatabolic state thought to be c...
Source: Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care - November 17, 2021 Category: Palliative Care Tags: RENAL AND UROLOGICAL PROBLEMS: Edited by Fred Saad and Andrea Kokorovic Source Type: research