Purpose: Cancer patients undergoing aggressive therapy suffer from multiple nonspecific treatment-related symptoms. The goal of this prospective study was to establish a profile of the development of different symptoms over the time of therapy and to examine symptom-related functional interference in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CXRT).
Patients and methods: Patients with locally advanced unresectable (stage II-IIIB) NSCLC were recruited for the study (N = 64). The M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) was used to measure multiple symptoms before and weekly for 12 weeks after the start of CXRT. Mixed-effect growth curve models were used to estimate symptom development during CXRT.
Results: Approximately 63% of patients suffered from moderate to severe levels of multiple symptoms by the end of CXRT. Symptom clusters with four development patterns appeared over the time of CXRT. With some variation between patients, all symptoms had a significant impact on the level of interference (all P < .001). Fatigue, distress, and sadness were the single strongest predictors of total symptom interference (each R2 > or = 0.49). Physical symptoms had greater impact on interference with function when they were moderate to severe, whereas affective symptoms had the largest effect on interference when they were mild to moderate.
Conclusion: Longitudinal analysis identified symptom clusters that have different development patterns in NSCLC patients receiving CXRT, providing a base for more accurate symptom management and suggesting the need for further study to identify potential mechanisms that might lead to better symptom control or prevention.