Quality of life and added value of a tailored palliative care intervention in patients with soft tissue sarcoma undergoing treatment with trabectedin: a multicentre, cluster-randomised trial within the German Interdisciplinary Sarcoma Group (GISG)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

  • Leopold Hentschel - , University Cancer Centre Dresden, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Stephan Richter - , Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Hans Georg Kopp - , Robert Bosch GmbH (Author)
  • Bernd Kasper - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Annegret Kunitz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Viktor Grünwald - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Torsten Kessler - , University of Münster (Author)
  • Jens Marcus Chemnitz - , Gemeinschaftsklinikum Mittelrhein (Author)
  • Uwe Pelzer - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Ulrich Schuler - , Department of Internal Medicine I, Palliative Care Center, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Janet Freitag - , University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Department of internal Medicine I (Author)
  • Andrea Schilling - , University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Beate Hornemann - , University Cancer Centre Dresden, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Karin Arndt - , Das Lebenshaus e.V (Author)
  • Martin Bornhäuser - , Department of Internal Medicine I, University Cancer Centre Dresden, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Markus Kajo Schuler - , Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Helios Hospital Emil von Behring (Author)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The choice of drug treatment in advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) continues to be a challenge regarding efficacy, quality of life (QoL) and toxicity. Unlike other cancer types, where integrating patient-reported outcomes (PRO) has proven to be beneficial for QoL, there is no such evidence in patients with STS as of now. The YonLife trial aimed to explore the effect of a tailored multistep intervention on QoL, symptoms and survival in patients with advanced STS undergoing treatment with trabectedin as well as identifying predictors of QoL. DESIGN: YonLife is a cluster-randomised, open-label, proof-of-concept study. The intervention incorporates electronic PRO assessment, a case vignette and expert-consented treatment recommendations. PARTICIPANTS: Six hospitals were randomised to the control arm (CA) or interventional arm (IA). Seventy-nine patients were included of whom 40 were analysed as per-protocol analysis set. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was the change of Functional Assessment for Cancer Therapy (FACT-G) total score after 9 weeks. Secondary outcomes included QoL (FACT-G subscales), anorexia and cachexia (Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy (FAACT)), symptoms (MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI)), anxiety and depression (HADS), pain intensity and interference (Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)) and survival assessment. RESULTS: After 9 weeks of treatment, QoL declined less in the IA (ΔFACT-G total score: -2.4, 95% CI: -9.2 to 4.5) as compared with CA (ΔFACT-G total score: -3.9; 95% CI:-11.3 to 3.5; p=0.765). In almost all FACT-G subscales, average declines were lower in IA, but without reaching statistical significance. Smaller adverse trends between arms were observed for MDASI, FAACT, HADS and BPI scales. These trends failed to reach statistical significance. Overall mean survival was longer in IA (648 days) than in CA (389 days, p=0.110). QoL was predicted by symptom severity, symptom interference, depression and anxiety. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest a potentially favourable effect of an electronic patient-reported outcomes based intervention on QoL that needs to be reappraised in confirmatory studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT02204111).

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e035546
JournalBMJ open
Volume10
Issue number8
Publication statusPublished - 27 Aug 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 32859662

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • cancer pain, quality in healthcare, sarcoma