Life S-Can: a Novel Clinical Tool to Effectively Assess Individual Needs in Cancer Survivorship Care and Improve Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors

Detailed Summary

The rate of cancer survivorship is increasing, posing the need to create high quality survivorship care plans. Traditionally, follow-up of cancer survivors has focused on detection of cancer recurrence or new cancers, but often it does not fully address behavioural and psychosocial elements which could improve quality of life (QoL) and potentially decrease recurrence risk. There is a current lack of short, validated screeners to assess diet, lifestyle and other behaviours that might influence QoL and prognosis in cancer survivors. The hypothesis of this project is that the creation of a screener with the capacity to rapidly, validly and effectively assess nutritional factors, lifestyle, sleep quality and psychosocial distress in cancer survivors could be useful to identify individuals who may need further care and support. The aim is to create a valid and rapid tool (Life S-Can) to evaluate a total of seven domains (body composition, physical activity, diet, alcohol intake, smoking, sleeping behaviour and psychosocial distress) in cancer survivors for its use in a clinical setting to improve survivorship care and QoL. The project is divided into three phases and will be carried out in one year at the University Hospital Son Espases (HUSE) (Palma, Spain). The objective of Phase I is to design the screener, which will be administered to a small convenience sample to determine comprehension, clarity and usefulness. In Phase II, Life S-Can will be validated in cancer survivors (n=100) at HUSE and a pilot intervention will be carried out with the objective to test the feasibility of a larger intervention to effectively implement Life S-Can in clinical settings to improve QoL in cancer survivors. For this, patients will be recruited by the Oncology Department and will be invited to attend the Clinical Trials Unit for an exhaustive assessment. A research dietitian will administer Life S-Can and will then collect data using validated questionnaires and objective measurements to compare to the data obtained with the Life S-Can screener. Participants will then be randomly allocated to either the Low Intensity Intervention Group (LIIG) or Active Intervention Group (AIG). LIIG patients will receive standard care and advice given to cancer survivors, and AIG patients will receive personalised feedback (by means of individual and group sessions) in order to improve their body composition, physical activity, diet, alcohol intake, and psychosocial elements based on their answers, by trained professionals. Patients of both groups will also answer both Life S-Can and validated questionnaires at baseline and after three months. Outcome measurements will be indicators of feasibility (completion of questionnaires), acceptability (by patients, health professionals), behavioural changes (diet, physical activity, psychosocial distress) and QoL. Finally, Phase III consists of a qualitative study conducted in cancer patients and health professionals to obtain data to design an implementation study. Cancer survivors care should be multifactorial; however, often, due to time constraints and clinical burden, health professionals might not assess certain aspects relevant for cancer survivors' QoL, such as nutritional status, diet, physical and mental health adequately. Life S-Can will enable clinicians, health practitioners, charities and other stakeholders work with cancer survivors early-on and refer them to adequate health and mental care teams and resources.

Study Details

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Interventions