Amélie S M Harle1, Fiona H Blackhall2, Alex Molassiotis3, Janelle Yorke4, Rachel Dockry5, Kimberley J Holt5, Danielle Yuill5, Katie Baker6, Jaclyn A Smith7. 1. Dorset Cancer Centre, Poole NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, England; Department of Medical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England. Electronic address: Amelie.Harle@poole.nhs.uk. 2. Department of Medical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England; Division of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, England. 3. School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 4. Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, England; Department of Christie Patient Centred Research, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England. 5. Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, England. 6. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology Group, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, England. 7. Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, England; Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cough is common in patients with lung cancer, and current antitussive treatments are suboptimal. There are little published data describing cough in patients with lung cancer or work assessing clinical associations. The aim of this study is to fill that gap. METHODS: This was a longitudinal prospective observational single-cohort study over 60 days. Patients were assessed through self-reported validated scales and, in a subsample, ambulatory cough monitoring at study entry (day 0), day 30, and day 60. RESULTS: At study entry, 177 patients were included and 153 provided data at day 60. The median duration of cough was 52 weeks (interquartile range, 8.5-260). Cough was described as severe enough to warrant treatment in 62% of the patients. Depending on the scale used, performance status was associated with both cough severity and cough impact (P < .001) at study entry, whereas higher cough severity at study entry was associated with female sex (P = .02), asthma (P = .035), and reflux disease (P < .001). Cough impact at study entry was additionally associated with experiencing nausea (P = .018). Cancer characteristics (ie, cancer stage, histology) were not associated with cough severity nor cough impact; neither was smoking or COPD. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to describe characteristics of cough in patients with lung cancer and to identify clinical associations that may be relevant for its treatment. Our data suggest that cough is a frequent and distressing symptom and an unmet clinical need. Its association with gastrointestinal symptoms in this study may improve our understanding of pathophysiology and therapeutic options for cough occurring in patients with lung cancer.
BACKGROUND: Cough is common in patients with lung cancer, and current antitussive treatments are suboptimal. There are little published data describing cough in patients with lung cancer or work assessing clinical associations. The aim of this study is to fill that gap. METHODS: This was a longitudinal prospective observational single-cohort study over 60 days. Patients were assessed through self-reported validated scales and, in a subsample, ambulatory cough monitoring at study entry (day 0), day 30, and day 60. RESULTS: At study entry, 177 patients were included and 153 provided data at day 60. The median duration of cough was 52 weeks (interquartile range, 8.5-260). Cough was described as severe enough to warrant treatment in 62% of the patients. Depending on the scale used, performance status was associated with both cough severity and cough impact (P < .001) at study entry, whereas higher cough severity at study entry was associated with female sex (P = .02), asthma (P = .035), and reflux disease (P < .001). Cough impact at study entry was additionally associated with experiencing nausea (P = .018). Cancer characteristics (ie, cancer stage, histology) were not associated with cough severity nor cough impact; neither was smoking or COPD. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to describe characteristics of cough in patients with lung cancer and to identify clinical associations that may be relevant for its treatment. Our data suggest that cough is a frequent and distressing symptom and an unmet clinical need. Its association with gastrointestinal symptoms in this study may improve our understanding of pathophysiology and therapeutic options for cough occurring in patients with lung cancer.
Authors: Amélie Harle; Alex Molassiotis; Oliver Buffin; Jack Burnham; Jaclyn Smith; Janelle Yorke; Fiona H Blackhall Journal: BMC Cancer Date: 2020-01-06 Impact factor: 4.430
Authors: Alex Molassiotis; Anne Fraser; Melissa Culligan; Pippa Labuc; Degi L Csaba; Andreas Charalambous Journal: Front Oncol Date: 2020-10-26 Impact factor: 6.244
Authors: Liuying Pan; Xiaofei Zhou; Chun Xu; Cheng Ding; Jun Chen; Xinyu Zhu; Jun Zhao; Chang Li Journal: Thorac Cancer Date: 2021-06-10 Impact factor: 3.500