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Palliative cancer care - dyspnoea - Background information
How common is dyspnoea in palliative care?
- Dyspnoea is common in people with cancer in general, but it is more common and severe in people with primary lung cancers [Doyle et al, 2004; Booth and Dudgeon, 2006].
- The frequency and severity of dyspnoea increase with the progression of disease [Doyle et al, 2004; Booth and Dudgeon, 2006].
- The prevalence of dyspnoea varies by the site of primary cancer, the stage of the disease, and other factors [Doyle et al, 2004]:
- In a UK study, three-quarters (216 of 289) of people with non–small-cell lung cancer reported dyspnoea at presentation; 23 (8%) reported severe symptoms, 95 (33%) reported moderate symptoms, and 98 (34%) reported mild symptoms [Muers and Round, 1993].
- Of 69 people with locally advanced lung cancer who were seen in a community hospital in the US and assessed with the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale, 73% reported dyspnoea [Lutz et al, 2001].
- A Canadian study of a general cancer outpatient population (n = 923, of whom 4% had lung cancer and 5.4% had lung metastases) found that 46% of people had shortness of breath. However, 6.2% of people had a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 6.2% had a history of cardiac disease. A majority (59.8%) of participants had a history of smoking, and just under a third of people had been exposed to substances that could have caused lung damage [Dudgeon et al, 2001].
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