Symposium

Cancer Rehabilitation

Clinical Practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP, implementation science, program development)

Measurement

Screening and Assessment of Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Clinical Practice Guideline from APTA Oncology, an Academy of the American Physical Therapy Association (856417)

Presenter(s)

• 

  Mary I. Fisher, PT, PhD

  Associate Professor
  University of Dayton
  Dayton, Ohio

  Presentation Slides Handouts
• 

  Jeannette Q. Lee, PT, PhD, CLT

  Associate Professor
  UCSF/SFSU Graduate Program in Physical Therapy
  San Francisco, California
• JC

  Joy Cohn, PT

  Physical Therapist
  Good Shepherd Penn Partners
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Non-presenting Author(s)

• SH

  Shana E. Harrington, PT, PhD

  Clinical Associate Professor
  University of South Carolina
  Columbia, South Carolina
• DM

  Daniel Malone, PT, PhD

  Associate Professor
  University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
  Aurora, Colorado

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) impacts nearly all individuals diagnosed with cancer at some point along the care continuum, with reported prevalence rates as high as 90%. CRF is associated with lower levels of health-related quality of life and overall physical function yet is underdiagnosed. A clinical practice guideline for the screening and assessment of CRF by healthcare providers including rehabilitation professionals is needed, and this session will report on the guideline created by APTA Oncology, and Academy of the American Physical Therapy Association. The clinical practice guideline provides recommendations for which measures are best screening and assessment tools when evaluating individuals with cancer.  One measure was assigned a grade of A for screening (EORTC-QLQ C30); while Best Practice included the Distress Thermometer/Problem List as well as the One and Four Item(s) Fatigue Scales.  Three studies were assigned a grade of A for assessment (Piper Fatigue Scale, PROMIS-SF, FACIT-F).  All positive screens for fatigue should be followed by assessment using one of the 3 well-supported assessment tools tools that provide a multidimensional assessment of fatigue. Screening and assessment of CRF is important to direct care for this underdiagnosed and under-treated condition.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the need for addressing cancer-related fatigue.
• Identify recommendations for screening of cancer-related fatigue.
• Identify recommendations for the assessment of cancer-related fatigue.
• Identify needs for future research.