Takashi Yamaguchi1, Tatsuya Morita2, Akihiro Nitto3, Naoko Takahashi4, Shingo Miyamoto5, Hiroyuki Nishie6, Junji Matsuoka7, Hiroki Sakurai8, Tatsuhiko Ishihara9, Yoko Tarumi10, Asao Ogawa11. 1. Department of Palliative Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. 2. Department of Palliative and Supportive Care, Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan. 3. Department of Psychooncology, National Cancer Center East Hospital, Kashiwa, Japan. 4. Department of Palliative Care, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan. 5. Department of Oncology, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan. 6. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care 2, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan. 7. Department of Palliative Care, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan. 8. Department of Palliative Care, St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. 9. Department of Palliative Care, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, Okayama, Japan. 10. Division of Palliative Care Medicine, Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. 11. Department of Psychooncology, National Cancer Center East Hospital, Kashiwa, Japan. Electronic address: aaogawa@ya2.so-net.ne.jp.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Symptom screening is important for appropriate symptom management. It remains uncertain as to which scores on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-Revised (ESAS-r) comprise the optimal cutoff points to determine symptom severity for Japanese cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: To investigate optimal cutoff points for individual ESAS-r items for detecting symptom severity and to evaluate the screening performance of the ESAS-r depression item in Japanese cancer patients. METHODS: We recruited cancer patients receiving palliative care from five tertiary acute hospitals in Japan. We asked participants to complete the ESAS-r Japanese version, Verbal Rating Symptom Severity Scale, and Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report Japanese version. We calculated sensitivity and specificity for detecting severe and moderate/severe symptoms evaluated by the Verbal Rating Symptom Severity Scale at different cutoff points of the ESAS-r. We also calculated sensitivity and specificity for detecting both the presence of depression and moderate/severe depression evaluated by the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report at various cutoff points for the depression item of the ESAS-r Japanese version. RESULTS: A total of 292 participants completed the questionnaire. For most of the ESAS-r symptoms, cutoff points to achieve the best balance between sensitivity and specificity were 5-7 for determining severe intensity and 3-4 for determining moderate/severe intensity. For the ESAS-r depression item, a cutoff point of 2 achieved the best balance between sensitivity and specificity for detecting both the presence of depression and moderate/severe depression. CONCLUSION: The ESAS-r Japanese version can accurately represent the severity of many symptoms. The cutoff points established for determining the level of symptom severity using ESAS-r provides a guide for symptom management in Japanese cancer patients.
CONTEXT: Symptom screening is important for appropriate symptom management. It remains uncertain as to which scores on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-Revised (ESAS-r) comprise the optimal cutoff points to determine symptom severity for Japanese cancerpatients. OBJECTIVES: To investigate optimal cutoff points for individual ESAS-r items for detecting symptom severity and to evaluate the screening performance of the ESAS-r depression item in Japanese cancerpatients. METHODS: We recruited cancerpatients receiving palliative care from five tertiary acute hospitals in Japan. We asked participants to complete the ESAS-r Japanese version, Verbal Rating Symptom Severity Scale, and Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report Japanese version. We calculated sensitivity and specificity for detecting severe and moderate/severe symptoms evaluated by the Verbal Rating Symptom Severity Scale at different cutoff points of the ESAS-r. We also calculated sensitivity and specificity for detecting both the presence of depression and moderate/severe depression evaluated by the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report at various cutoff points for the depression item of the ESAS-r Japanese version. RESULTS: A total of 292 participants completed the questionnaire. For most of the ESAS-r symptoms, cutoff points to achieve the best balance between sensitivity and specificity were 5-7 for determining severe intensity and 3-4 for determining moderate/severe intensity. For the ESAS-r depression item, a cutoff point of 2 achieved the best balance between sensitivity and specificity for detecting both the presence of depression and moderate/severe depression. CONCLUSION: The ESAS-r Japanese version can accurately represent the severity of many symptoms. The cutoff points established for determining the level of symptom severity using ESAS-r provides a guide for symptom management in Japanese cancerpatients.
Authors: Frederieke H van der Baan; Josephine J Koldenhof; Ellen J de Nijs; Michael A Echteld; Danielle Zweers; Ginette M Hesselmann; Sigrid C Vervoort; Jan B Vos; Everlien de Graaf; Petronella O Witteveen; Karijn P Suijkerbuijk; Alexander de Graeff; Saskia C Teunissen Journal: Cancer Med Date: 2020-07-09 Impact factor: 4.452
Authors: Valeria Sanna; Palma Fedele; Giulia Deiana; Maria G Alicicco; Chiara Ninniri; Anna N Santoro; Antonio Pazzola; Alessandro Fancellu Journal: World J Clin Oncol Date: 2022-07-24