Longitudinal Change in Symptom Clusters in Patients With Ovarian Cancer

The symptoms of patients with ovarian cancer at a specific time point during the treatment process have been investigated in previous studies. However, only a few longitudinal studies have been conducted in China to determine the symptom cluster of patients with ovarian cancer before surgery, after surgery, and during the initial stage of chemotherapy.

This study was carried out to identify the symptom clusters in patients with ovarian cancer at different stages of treatment.

A longitudinal survey was designed, and 430 patients with ovarian cancer who had undergone surgical operation combined with chemotherapy were recruited as participants. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify the components of symptom cluster at three different time points: 3 days before surgery (T1), 2 days after surgery (T2), and the first day after the completion of chemotherapy cycle 1 (T3).

The symptom clusters varied across the three time points. Notably, the pain-related, emotional, cognitive, and disease-related symptom clusters occurred at T1 and persisted through T2 and T3; the treatment-related symptom cluster occurred at T2 and persisted through T3; and the numbness symptom and gastrointestinal symptom clusters were observed at T3.

Priority symptom management interventions should be provided according to the most severe symptom clusters such as the emotional symptom cluster at T1, the treatment-related symptom cluster at T2, and the gastrointestinal symptom cluster at T3.