Cochrane

Background Patients with incurable cancer often experience tiredness (fatigue) during cancer treatment. Psychological therapies may help to reduce this symptom. Tiredness in cancer patients receiving cancer treatment may be treated with psychological therapies aimed at influencing or changing thoughts, emotions, behaviours, social interactions, or ...

Bottom line There is no evidence to show that paracetamol is useful in treating people with cancer pain, either alone or combined with a morphine-like drug. Nor is there evidence to disprove that it is useful. There are no good studies evaluating paracetamol for management of cancer pain. Background One person in two or three who gets cancer will ...

Bottom line There is no high-quality evidence to prove that NSAIDs are useful in treating people with cancer pain. Nor is there evidence to disprove that they are useful. Very low-quality evidence shows that some people with moderate or severe cancer pain have pain much reduced within one or two weeks. Background One person in two or three who gets ...

Bottom line In about 19 of 20 people with moderate to severe pain from cancer, morphine-like drugs (opioids) can probably reduce pain to mild or no pain within 14 days if they can tolerate the side effects. Most people will have side effects, and about 1 in 10 to 2 in 10 will need to change their treatment because of side effects. Background One ...

Background Nausea is a common symptom in advanced cancer. While nausea and vomiting can be related to cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery, a significant number of people with advanced cancer also suffer from nausea unrelated to such therapies. Nausea and vomiting may also cause psychological distress, and have a negative ...

Background This is an updated version of an original Cochrane review published in Issue 6, 2014. Pelvic lymphadenectomy (removal of lymph glands found in the pelvis) is an important component of the surgical management of gynaecological cancers to see if the cancer has spread. However, it can lead to complications, especially lymphocyst formation (collection ...

Bottom line The benefits and harms of adding low-dose ketamine to strong pain-killers such as morphine for the relief of cancer pain are not yet established. High-dose ketamine does not appear to be effective and may be associated with serious side effects. Background This review is an update of a review first published in 2003 and updated in 2012. Morphine-like ...

Background Cancer of the colon or rectum that has spread to other organs (metastatic colorectal cancer) is a commonly occurring disease that usually cannot be surgically removed. The main treatment is chemotherapy, targeted therapy (such as EGFR inhibitors, the subject of this review), or both. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a protein ...

What is the issue? Metastatic breast cancer occurs when the cancer has spread to areas of the body beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes. Although metastatic breast cancer is generally not curable, it is widely accepted that women with metastatic disease should receive some form of chemotherapy to help ease the severity of disease symptoms, while ...

Review question What are the benefits and harms of various gases for insufflation (inflation with gas) of the abdominal (tummy) cavity to allow easier access to organs during laparoscopic (key-hole) abdominal surgery? Background Laparoscopic (key hole) surgery is now widely performed to treat various abdominal diseases. An ideal gas for insufflation ...