SPPADE Symptoms Common in Cancer Patients

FRIDAY, April 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- SPPADE symptoms (sleep disturbance, pain, physical function impairment, anxiety, depression, and low energy/fatigue) are common among cancer patients, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Kurt Kroenke, M.D., from Indiana University in Indianapolis, and colleagues examined the prevalence, severity, and co-occurrence of SPPADE symptoms among 31,886 medical oncology outpatients.

The researchers found that the proportion of patients with a potential clinically relevant symptom ranged from 17.5 percent for depression to 33.4 percent for fatigue. There was high co-occurrence of symptoms, with the proportion of patients with three or more additional clinically relevant symptoms ranging from 45.2 percent for fatigue to 68.6 percent for depression. The composite SPPADE score showed good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha of 0.86). Across cancer types, the symptom burden differed (highest in lung, gastrointestinal, and gynecologic cancers), but was generally similar across most sociodemographic characteristics.

"It's important for cancer patients to know sleep disturbance, pain, physical function impairment, anxiety, depression and low energy/fatigue, while, perhaps, related to other factors in addition to their cancer, are not uncommon and that we have simple ways of measuring and effective ways of managing these often debilitating symptoms," Kroenke said in a statement.

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