Oncodermatology programs improve quality of life for cancer patients
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Patients with cancer enrolled in a supportive oncodermatology program experienced a significant improvement in quality of life, according to a study.
“It would be very unlikely for anyone going through cancer treatment, regardless what the treatment is, to not experience some hair, skin or nail issue,” study author Adam J. Friedman, MD, director of the George Washington University Supportive Oncodermatology Clinic and interim chair of the department of dermatology at GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, told Healio. “There comes the field of supportive oncodermatology ... which is a portion of dermatology that is dedicated to developing ways to mitigate, better understand and even prevent some of these expected sequalae.”
A 30-item cross-sectional survey, taken by adult patients with cancer treated at the George Washington University Supportive Oncodermatology Clinic, asked questions regarding quality of life and patient satisfaction, adapted from the Dermatology Life Quality Index survey and the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form, respectively.
Patients in the study were treated for adverse effects involving skin (55.9%), nails (15.2%) and hair (12.1%).
Respondents recorded an average quality of life score of 6.5 (moderate effect) before receiving supportive oncodermatology treatment compared with an average score of 3.8 (small effect) after treatment. The difference was statistically significant (P = .0005).
Embarrassment scores improved the most with a difference of 0.74 (P = .0009). Scores also improved for physical symptoms, clothes, social/leisure, work/school and close relationships. Itch, pain or soreness score, however, did not have a statistically significant difference.
Average patient satisfaction was 4.15, for a rating of “satisfied,” with the interpersonal manner category scoring the highest at 4.43.
The authors said raising awareness of oncodermatology can optimize cancer care and benefit patients.
“The goal of this is to really disseminate that focusing on this — addressing these issues, seeing these patients in a dedicated clinic and teaching future dermatologists how to manage this — has a tremendous impact on patient quality of life,” Friedman said. – by Rebecca L. Forand
Disclosure: Friedman reports he serves as a consultant to Dermira, Eli Lilly and Company, Encore Dermatology, Exeltis, Galderma, IntraDerm, Johnson & Johnson, Oculus Innovative Sciences, Pfizer and Sanovaworks and receives honoraria from Allergan, Amgen, Bayer, Biogen, Janssen Biotech, La Roche-Posay Laboratorie Pharmaceutique, Medscape, Menlo Therapeutics, Novartis, Orlando Dermatology Aesthetic & Clinical, Promius Pharma, Regeneron, Sanovaworks and Valeant Pharmaceuticals.