Octreotide for palliative treatment of hepatic metastases from non-neuroendocrine primary tumours: evaluation of quality of life using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire

Abstract

Although further studies are warranted, we consider the use of octreotide a good alternative in palliative treatment of symptomatic liver metastases in patients with end-stage malignant disease.

The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ablative therapies in the management of liver metastases: systematic review and economic evaluation

“…One study 143 was designed to investigate the clinical outcomes and patient preferences at the end of life. Four RCTs are reported in eight included 139 also enrolled participants with primary liver tumours and benign hepatic lesions, whereas another study 148 included patients with liver metastases from other primary tumours (non-small cell lung, pancreas, prostate, and stomach) besides those arising in the colorectum. There was one study on patients with renal liver metastases, 141 and another where patients' primary tumours were not specified.…”

“…Six of the 14 included studies 14,120,121,[140][141][142]144,145,[149][150][151] are intervention studies encompassing the assessment of patients' HRQoL, and six studies [137][138][139][146][147][148]151 were aimed specifically at studying the quality of life of patients with liver metastases. One study 143 was designed to investigate the clinical outcomes and patient preferences at the end of life.…”

“…Published research involving the comparators included in this study is very limited as it consists of studies not involving comparisons of interest to our review 120,121,140,142,144,[146][147][148][149]151,153 and those assessing HRQoL for a short follow-up period (3 or 6 months) 138,146,147 or only at baseline. 141 Part of the evidence identified consists of prospective cohort studies where the impact of the intervention is assessed through comparison of the cohort results before and after the intervention, and therefore without a control group.…”

“…14,146,147 Health-related quality-of-life instruments From the 14 primary studies found on HRQoL of patients with liver metastases, only three report the use of a preference-based measure -the generic instrument European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). 146,147,149,151 All 14 studies report the use of a non-preference-based instrument, either generic 139,[143][144][145]149,151 or condition-specific, 137,138,148,150 or the use of both. 14,120,121,[140][141][142]146,147 No publications involving a condition-specific preference-based measure were found.…”

“…These were the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality-of-life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), 14,138,[146][147][148]150 its liver metastases-specific questionnaire module EORTC QLQ-LMC21, 138 the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy -General scale (FACT-G) and its kidney-specific supplement the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy -Kidney Symptom Index -Disease-Related Symptoms Subscale (FKSI-DRS), 141 the City of Hope QoL Scale/Cancer Patient Survey, 137 and the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSC). 120,121,140,142 One study using both condition-specific (EORTC QLQ-C30) and generic (EQ-VAS) non-preference-based measures reports similar profiles of quality-of-life variation over time for both measures.…”