NIH State-of-the-Science Statement on symptom management in cancer: pain, depression, and fatigue.

CONCLUSIONS: Too many cancer patients with pain, depression, and fatigue receive inadequate treatment for their symptoms. Clinicians should use brief assessment tools routinely to ask patients about pain, depression, and fatigue and to initiate evidence-based treatments. Current evidence to support the concept of cancer symptom clusters is insufficient, and additional theoretically driven research is warranted. Research is needed on the definition, occurrence, assessment, and treatment of pain, depression, and fatigue alone and together through adequately funded prospective studies. Fear of cancer and its consequences must be ameliorated. All patients with cancer should have optimal symptom control from diagnosis throughout the course of illness, irrespective of personal and cultural characteristics. The state of the science in cancer symptom management should be reassessed periodically. PMID: 14984106 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Source: NIH Consensus and State of the Science Statements - Category: American Health Tags: NIH Consens State Sci Statements Source Type: research