Fatigue, insomnia and hot flashes after definitive radiochemotherapy and image-guided adaptive brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer: An analysis from the EMBRACE study

Publication date: Available online 5 April 2018
Source:Radiotherapy and Oncology
Author(s): Stéphanie Smet, Richard Pötter, Christine Haie-Meder, Jacob C. Lindegaard, Ina Schulz-Juergenliemk, Umesh Mahantshetty, Barbara Segedin, Kjersti Bruheim, Peter Hoskin, Bhavana Rai, Fleur Huang, Rachel Cooper, Erik van Limbergen, Kari Tanderup, Kathrin Kirchheiner
ObjectiveTo evaluate the pattern of manifestation of fatigue, insomnia and hot flashes within the prospective, observational, multi-center EMBRACE study.MethodsMorbidity was prospectively assessed according to CTCAE v.3 and patient-reported outcome with EORTC QLQ-C30/CX24 at baseline and regular follow-up. Analyses of crude incidence, prevalence rates and actuarial estimates were performed.ResultsA total of 1176 patients were analyzed with a median follow-up of 27 months. At baseline, CTCAE G1/G2 prevalence rates for fatigue were 29%/6.2%, for insomnia 18%/3.1% and for hot flashes 7.9%/1.6% with respective 3-year prevalence rates of 29%/6.8%, 17%/4.4% and 19%/5.9%. Similar patterns of manifestation were seen in patient-reported EORTC outcomes. The 3-year actuarial estimates for G ≥ 3 CTCAE fatigue, insomnia and hot flashes were 5.5%, 4.7% and 1.9%. Younger age was associated with significantly higher risk for fatigue, insomnia and hot flashes.ConclusionFatigue, insomnia and hot flashes occurred mainly in the mild to moderate range. Fatigue and insomnia were already present before treatment and showed minor fluctuations or recovery during follow-up, whereas hot flashes showed a considerable increase after treatment. More research is needed to evaluate contributing risk factors in order to define intervention strategies.



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