QLIF-28. FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH LOW GRADE GLIOMA

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is the most prevalent and disabling symptom in cancer patients. Fatigue is even the most important cause of loss of quality of life both for the patient and the care giver. Cancer-related fatigue is defined as a "persistent, subjective sense of tiredness related to cancer and cancer treatment that interferes with usual functioning". Scientific literature on this topic is scarce and reports disparate results. This study systematically reviews how fatigue is assessed in patients with low-grade glioma and evaluates its prevalence in LGG patients. METHOD(S): A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and PsychINFO for articles reporting on fatigue in patients with LGG. Inclusion criteria were: 1) adult patients with LGG and 2) fatigue was assessed as primary or secondary outcome measure. RESULT(S): In total, 19 articles were selected, including 971 patients. Seven self-assessment instruments were identified. Prevalence rates ranged from 39% to 77%. Fatigue was found to be a common side effect of treatment. The prevalence rates ranged from 20% to 76% when fatigue was reported as a mild or moderate side effect and fatigue was prevalent in 4% when reported as a severe side effect. CONCLUSION(S): Despite the growing awareness of cancer-related fatigue, there is still a lack of knowledge of the exact pathophysiology of fatigue and the underlying mechanisms of fatigue in LGG patients. This review shows that fatigue is a common problem in LGG patients. It must be taken into account that even multidimensional fatigue instruments not yield insufficient insight in potential causes or consequences of fatigue, like a decrease in physical and cognitive performance. We suggest research to analyse the factors of fatigue in low grade patients with subjective and objective measurement outcomes to developing individualized (rehabilitation) treatment programs in LGG patients.