Abstract Background Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) experience debilitating symptoms, yet factors associated with symptom burden and severity are not well described. Methods This population-based cohort study included patients diagnosed with PDAC and who completed Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) between 1 month before and 2 months after diagnosis between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2020 in Ontario, Canada. The ESAS contains 9 symptoms on a scale from 0 to 10. The primary outcome was moderate to severe (ESAS scores ≥4) symptoms (pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, loss of appetite, well-being, and shortness of breath) 2-6 months after diagnosis. We used multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate associations between the primary outcome and baseline demographic and clinical variables, cancer-specific factors, and baseline symptom scores. Results We included 4918 patients (mean age 68 years, 52% male). Near the time of diagnosis, 13.8% (nausea) to 38.5% (well-being) of patients reported moderate to severe symptoms. At 2-6 months after diagnosis, 23.0% (dyspnea) to 57.5% (poor well-being) reported moderate to severe symptoms. A range of baseline demographic, clinical, and cancer-specific risk factors were identified for reporting of moderate to severe symptoms. The presence of baseline symptoms for each of the 9 included symptoms was associated with reporting of the same symptom with moderate to high severity 2-6 months after diagnosis. Conclusions Patients with PDAC face a high symptom burden following diagnosis. Universal physician symptom screening for patients diagnosed with PDAC may enable improved symptom identification and management.
James et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: