UCSF

Background

Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) rarely experience a single symptom associated with their disease and its treatment.

Objective

Purpose of this literature review was to summarize the current state of knowledge of multiple co-occurring symptoms in CRC patients who received chemotherapy (CTX) alone or CTX with targeted therapies.

Methods

Comprehensive literature search was conducted from 1990 to 2014. These studies were evaluated in terms of the occurrence of multiple co-occurring symptoms in CRC patients who received CTX alone or CTX with targeted therapies; the most common symptom assessment and quality of life (QOL) instruments used; and the associations identified between select demographic and treatment characteristics, QOL, and multiple co-occurring symptoms.

Results

Only 5 studies met this review's inclusion criteria. Two studies compared symptoms in patients who received CTX alone or CTX with targeted therapies, and only 1 study reported on symptom occurrence. Of the 5 studies identified, only 2 used the same instrument to assess symptoms, and only 2 studies evaluated for associations between demographic and treatment characteristics and symptom burden, as well as QOL outcomes.

Conclusions

Given the larger number of patients with CRC, as well as the increased number of CRC patients who will receive targeted therapies with or without CTX, future studies need to describe the occurrence, severity, and distress of multiple co-occurring symptoms and their impact on CRC patients' QOL.

Implications for practice

To deliver effective symptom management interventions, the most common, severe, and distressing symptoms that CRC patients experience need to be identified.