Assessment of Cancer-Related Fatigue: Implications for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a highly prevalent and debilitating symptom experienced by most cancer patients during, and often for considerable periods after, treatment. The recognition of the importance of CRF to patients' psychosocial and cognitive functioning, as well as to their quality of life, has driven the development of a wide range of assessment tools for screening and diagnosis of CRF. Over 20 different measures have been used to assess CRF from either a unidimensional or multidimensional perspective. Unidimensional measures are often single-question scales that generally focus on identifying the occurrence and severity of CRF, whereas multidimensional measures may also examine the effect of CRF across several domains of physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive functioning. This paper provides an overview and critique of measures commonly used to assess CRF. Single-question assessment is the most commonly used and the most useful methodology. Strategies to facilitate reliable assessment of CRF are also discussed. The Oncologist 2007;12(suppl 1):11-21

A high level of fatigue among long-term survivors of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: results from the longitudinal population-based PROFILES registry in the south of the Netherlands

“…Besides differences between types of cancer, the use of different cut-off scores and fatigue assessment instruments contribute to the differences in reported prevalences. [38][39][40] The underlying mechanisms that cause constant cancer- 41 Many factors are associated with the development of fatigue, such as type of treatment, the disease itself, medication-related adverse events, biological modifiers (such as interferon), depression, physical inactivity, anxiety, pain and sleep disturbances. [42][43][44][45][46] Although the cause of fatigue is not completely clear, results of a recently published review 47 show that patients with fatigue may benefit from pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral interventions and exercise.…”

Cancer-Related Fatigue: Causes, Consequences, and Management

“…The article by Jean-Pierre et al [19] focuses on the measurement of CRF. These authors offer an overview and critique of methods commonly used to assess CRF, as well as a very interesting discussion of the merits of unidimensional versus multidimensional fatigue measures.…”

Optimism as moderator of fatigue and quality of life of patients with breast and gynaecological cancer under and after oncological treatment

“…Wiek badanych kobiet w każdej grupie mieścił się w przedziale 20-60 lat, co pozwalało ograniczyć ewentualny wpływ chorób ujawniających się w późnej dorosłości. Pacjentki przed rozpoczęciem leczenia wypełniały najpierw kwestionariusz HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) w celu określenia poziomu ich ewentualnej depresji lub lęku, co wynikało z rekomendacji wyłączania z badania zmęczenia w chorobie nowotworowej osób doświadczających zaburzeń psychicznych (depresji, lęku), z którymi współwystępuje zmęczenie [42]. Chore, u których wyniki HADS nie wskazywały na problemy depresyjne, lękowe (tzn.…”