Premium
A literature review of post‐treatment survivorship interventions for colorectal cancer survivors and/or their caregivers
Author(s) -
Luo Xingjuan,
Li Jieyu,
Chen Meizhen,
Gong Jiali,
Xu Yongyong,
Li Qiuping
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.5657
Subject(s) - survivorship curve , cinahl , psychological intervention , psychosocial , psycinfo , medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , distress , cancer survivor , medline , health care , gerontology , cochrane library , cancer , alternative medicine , nursing , clinical psychology , psychiatry , pathology , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Abstract Objective Colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors have reported a number of concerns and unmet needs after treatment completion. This paper aims to explore existing survivorship interventions after CRC treatment according to the American Cancer Society CRC Survivorship Care Guidelines, to identify study gaps, and provide valuable evidence directing future research. Methods Five electronic databases, including CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases from 2005 to October 2020, were systematically searched to identify English or Chinese literature on CRC post‐treatment survivorship interventions. Manual searching through the articles' references lists was also conducted. Results Thirty studies met the criteria, and focused on addressing issues in four CRC Survivorship Care Guidelines domains. Several issues for CRC surveillance programmes remain to be explored. Regarding the long‐term physical and psychosocial effects of CRC treatment, we found mounting evidence for various interventions to solve ostomy issues and improve distress/depression/anxiety, strong evidence for exercise to improve fatigue, and limited evidence in addressing CRC patient sexual concerns. For health promotion, high‐quality evidence was found for exercises to improve cardiopulmonary fitness, metabolism, tumour‐related biomarkers, and short‐term improvement in physical fitness and QOL. Emerging evidence was found for a survivorship care plan to improve patient perceptions of care coordination. Conclusions Further refinements based on the existing evidence, and the development of comprehensive CRC survivorship care comprising multiple essential survivorship components, are required. Furthermore, considering both survivor and caregiver cancer survivorship needs, future research may optimise the care delivered, and help survivors and their families live better with cancer.