Advanced breast, cervical and prostate cancer- Patient needs: systematic review

There are high rates registered globally of breast cancer, cervical and prostate. People going through have needs that cause an impact in their life's quality, especially in the final stages of the illness.

To characterise the most evaluated and afflicted physical, emotional, roll, cognitive, social and spiritual needs of patients in the final stages of breast, cervical and prostate cancer.

A thorough systematic search of databases such as Medline (Ovid) and Embase, from databases' creation throughout 31 December 2021. Quantitative studies were included to evaluate, from the adoption of tools, the dimensions or needs of people going under three types of cancer on final stages.

Twelve studies were included. More common symptoms such as nausea/vomiting and pain were the most evaluated with 83%. Fifty-eight per cent of papers studied the emotional function of people with breast and prostate cancer. Other 42% included roll, cognitive and social appreciations. Sexual, cognitive and physical, in that line, were the most affected. The most common questionnaires used to measure oncological patients on final stages were those from European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer on its C-30, BR-23, C-15 PAL and CR-25 versions.

On breast and prostate cancer, the most affected aspect was the sexual dysfunction, while for cervical cancer, the physical function was the most altered one. Spiritual dimension was not included in any of the evaluated literature.