Original article
Prevalence of symptoms among patients with advanced cancer: An international collaborative study

https://doi.org/10.1016/0885-3924(96)00042-5Get rights and content
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Abstract

The aims of this study were (a) to estimate the prevalence of pain and eight other common symptoms in a large population of patients with advanced cancer from different palliative care centers, and (b) to assess the differences in prevalence of the symptoms by primary site. In 1990–1991, the prevalence of eight major symptoms and performance status were assessed prospectively among 1840 cancer patients in seven hospices in Europe, the United States, and Australia. The data were collected at each institution using structured data collection sheets from the World Health Organization's (WHO) Cancer and Palliative Care Unit. The prevalence of moderate to severe pain was 51%, ranging from 43% in stomach cancer to 80% in gynecological cancers. Nausea was most prevalent in gynecological (42%) and stomach (36%) cancers, and dyspnea (46%) in lung cancer. There were statistically significant differences in the prevalence of most symptoms depending on the primary site of cancer and the hospice. Population-based follow-up studies are needed to document the incidence and prevalence of symptoms throughout the course of the disease.

Keywords

Neoplasms-symptoms
symptoms
prevalence
palliative care

Cited by (0)

The members of the Symptom Prevalence Group are Sam Ahmedzai, MD, Leicestershire Hospice, Leicestershire, United Kingdom; T.F. Benton, MB, St. Columba's Hospice, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Declan Walsh, MSc, FACP, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Palliative Care Program, Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Irene Higginson, MD, PhD, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, United Kingdom; Timo Leino, MD, Pirkanmaa Hospice, Tampere, Finland; J. Norelle Lickiss, MD, Cenntral Sydney Palliative Care Service, Camperdown, Australia; and Rudolf Morant, MD, Palliative Care Service of Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.