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MASCC Fatigue Study Group

Leadership

Chair: Karen Mustian, PhD - USA
Vice-Chair: Stephen R Samuel, PhD, MPT - India

For more information or to contact the Study Group Leaders, please send an email to [email protected].

Study Group Minutes
2017 Minutesalt - Annual Meeting - Washington, D.C.

Objectives

The primary purpose of the Fatigue Study Group is research. The group’s goal is to conduct multidisciplinary pilot studies, initially at 1 to 3 institutions. Studies might address any of the following: (1) basic science on fatigue mechanisms, using animal models or laboratory settings; (2) translational studies, not only of basic science findings, but also of evidence-based guidelines; (3) aspects of fatigue in relation to the healthcare spectrum, including prevention, screening, detection, treatment, rehabilitation, survivorship, late effects, and palliative or end-of-life care; (4) collaborative work, focusing on fatigue, with other MASCC study groups.

A secondary purpose of the Fatigue Study Group is education. The group serves as a resource for MASCC and its members on cancer-related fatigue. This might involve identifying speakers and topics for scientific and plenary sessions at MASCC meetings, submitting publications to Supportive Care in Cancer, and providing information for the MASCC website on fatigue presentations, posters, resources, and Fatigue Study Group activities.

2017 Trainee and Early Investigator Awards

Each year, the Fatigue Study Group selects two outstanding young investigators from among fatigue-related research abstracts submitted to the meeting. The 2017 awards were presented at the MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting in Washington, DC in June.

New Investigator Award
Calvin L. Cole, PhD, received the Fatigue Study Group’s Junior Investigator Award for his work titled, “Interrelationship Between Improvements in Aerobic Capacity and Cancer-Related Fatigue in Prostate Cancer Patients.” Calvin is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, USA.

Junior Investigator Award
Brenda O’Connor, MD, received the Junior Investigator Award for her research titled “Cancer-Related Fatigue: The Role of Mobile Technology in Assessment.” Brenda recently received her medical degree from the School of Medicine & Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Research Highlights

Cancer-Related Fatigue and Supportive Care 
Many patients with cancer are not prepared for the degree of fatigue they might experience as a result of their disease or its treatment. Many are not educated in management strategies to cope with fatigue, even though a number of interventions have been found helpful. Recently, Teresa Young and colleagues at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Northwood, Middlesex, UK, reported the results of patient experience surveys on cancer-related fatigue. They found that many patients were not being given advice to manage their cancer-related fatigue — partly due to a lack of healthcare providers’ awareness of its occurrence and extent and of their failure to provide patients with management advice. >> Read More

A Call for Collaboration
MASCC members Ann Berger, Fiona Cramp, and Sandra Mitchell, along with colleagues at the Division of Population Health Sciences and Education, St. George’s University of London have recently published an analysis of the contrasting European and American perspectives on cancer-related fatigue and its impact on functioning on cancer survivors. They point to a lack of understanding of the causes, definition, and measurement of cancer-related fatigue and call for models to guide the study of this common effect of cancer and its treatment. The authors suggest a need for an international consensus on the defining features of fatigue in cancer survivors as well as more standardized interventions and measurement of outcomes. A coordination of efforts would increase understanding of the biological, psychological, and social mechanisms that underlie cancer-related fatigue, leading to improved research and clinical guidelines. For more information, see Minton D, Berger A, Barsevick A, Cramp F, et al. Cancer-related fatigue and its impact on functioning. Cancer 2013 Jan 1;119 Suppl  11:2124-30.

Other Recent Research
Other recent research by members of the Study Group focuses on the effects of yoga and exercise generally on cancer-related fatigue, the side-effect burden of fatigue in older cancer survivors, recommendations for high-priority research on cancer-related fatigue in children and adults, and exercise recommendations for numerous cancer-related adverse effects including cancer-related fatigue.

Past Workshops

Recent Member Publications

Recent Study Group member publications related to fatigue in cancer patients.

Please contact the Study Group Chairs above with your questions.
MASCC Study Group Coordinator, Leslie Johnson