Palliative care for patients with gastroesophageal cancer at all stages: a narrative review

作者：Kathryn DeCarli, Dana L. Guyer, Khaldoun Almhanna · 发表于：Annals of Palliative Medicine · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.21037/apm-22-1243 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Esophageal Cancer Research and Treatment、Esophageal and GI Pathology、Dysphagia Assessment and Management

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer is a highly morbid disease with a poor prognosis. While uncommon in the United States, globally it is ranked as the sixth or seventh most common cancer depending on survey tool. GEJ cancer presents a unique and challenging symptom profile for patients at all disease stages, regardless of histology. Even patients with early stage disease experience debilitating cancer-related symptoms and treatment side effects. The heavy symptom burden associated with this disease includes dysphagia, nausea and vomiting, pain, anxiety, depression and malnutrition. These symptoms require a multidisciplinary approach involving local therapies including radiation and stent placement, systemic cancer-directed therapy, nutritional support, and supportive medical management. This review aims to examine the unique symptom burden experienced by patients with GEJ cancer and provide an updated overview of symptom management techniques. METHODS: A PubMed search was conducted using the terms "gastroesophageal junction cancer AND palliative care". Articles published from 2008 to 2022 with a primary focus on supportive care for patients with GEJ cancers were reviewed. KEY CONTENT AND FINDINGS: A total of 119 articles were identified and screened in our database search. Of these, 22 full text articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Seventeen articles addressed technical interventions for the alleviation of dysphagia, 1 article focus...