INTERNATIONAL COLUMN: Association of demographic, economic and clinical variables in daily activities and symptoms presented by patients in cancer treatment

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between demographic, economic and clinical variables, cancer symptoms, and daily life interference in patients receiving cancer treatment in Brazil. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 268 patients were assessed. A questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic, economic and clinical variables, and the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory was used to assess cancer symptoms. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate descriptive statistics. Findings: The following variables were associated with higher symptom scores: female sex (prevalence ratio [PR]=1.28; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.06-1.53), illiteracy or < 9 years of formal education (PR=1.40; 95% CI 1.08-1.82), clinical equipment or situations that requiring nursing care (PR=1.23; 95% CI 1.03-1.46), and family history of cancer (PR=1.23; 95% CI 1.04-1.45). Daily life interference was associated with female sex (PR=1.40; 95% CI 1.12-1.75), secondary tumour (PR=1.42; 95% CI 1.16-1.74) and radiotherapy (PR=1.24; 95% CI 1.01-1.51). Conclusion: Management of cancer patients requires multidisciplinary knowledge, taking into consideration all the subjective dimensions of the patients. Knowing the profile of patients most strongly affected by symptoms will help them face the limitations and consequences of the disease and its treatment.