Patient education program at the forefront of cancer-associated thrombosis care

Measurement of adherence and health-related quality of life during anticoagulation therapy in cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE): a multicenter quantitative study

PURPOSE

Therapy for cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) includes long-term anticoagulation, which may have substantial impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients. We assessed patient-reported outcomes to characterize the HRQL associated with VTE treatment and to begin to examine those HRQL elements impacting anticoagulation adherence (AA).

METHODS

Participants were adult cancer patients with confirmed symptomatic acute lower extremity deep venous thrombosis. Patients were excluded if there was an indication for anticoagulation other than VTE, ECOG performance status >3, or life expectancy < 3 months. Participants were assessed with a self-reported adherence tool. HRQL was measured with a 6-domain questionnaire using a seven-point Likert scale. Evaluations were performed at 30 days and 3 months after enrollment. For the primary objective, an overall adherence rate was calculated at each time point of evaluation. For the HRQL domains, non-parametric testing was used to compare results between subgroups.

RESULTS

Seventy-four patients were enrolled. AA and HRQL at 30 days and 3 months were assessed in 50 and 36 participants, respectively. At 30 days the AA rate was 90%, and at 3 months it was 83%. In regard to HRQL, patients suffered frequent and moderate-severe distress in the domains of emotional and physical symptoms, sleep disturbance, and limitations to physical activity. An association between emotional or physical distress and AA was observed.

CONCLUSION

Patients with VTE suffer a substantial impairment of their HRQL. Increased emotional distress correlated with better long-term AA. These results can be used to inform additional research aimed at developing novel strategies to improve AA.

Multidisciplinary Care for the Prevention and Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Cancer-Associated Thrombosis (CAT): Impact of Educational Interventions on CAT-Related Events and on Patients' and Clinicians' Awareness

Cancer is a leading cause of death. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an often-overlooked cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients that can be readily prevented and treated. Actions are needed to reduce the morbidity and mortality of patients with cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT). There is a need to increase awareness of the impact of CAT on cancer patients' morbidity and mortality, on their quality of life and to understand the importance of more effective preventions and treatments of VTE in cancer patients. Moreover, it is of great importance to systematically assess the risk of VTE in regard to patients, cancer and treatment-related factors. Unfortunately, there are unmet clinical needs in the prevention and treatment of cancer-associated VTE. In this review, we discuss an action plan to ensure an increased awareness of and education on the issues that need to be addressed in order to improve the provision of appropriate prevention, early diagnosis and effective and safe treatment of VTE to all cancer patients and, ultimately, to reduce morbidity and mortality.