Fatigue in Patients with Lung Cancer Is Related with Accelerated Tryptophan Breakdown

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer often suffer from fatigue and decreased quality of life which might be related to the breakdown of essential amino acid tryptophan. METHODS: In 50 patients with lung cancer we examined fatigue and the deterioration of quality of life in patients using the Functional...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kurz, Katharina, Fiegl, Michael, Holzner, Bernhard, Giesinger, Johannes, Pircher, Marianna, Weiss, Guenter, Denz, Hubert A., Fuchs, Dietmar
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Research Article
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3353990/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22615854
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036956
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer often suffer from fatigue and decreased quality of life which might be related to the breakdown of essential amino acid tryptophan. METHODS: In 50 patients with lung cancer we examined fatigue and the deterioration of quality of life in patients using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Anemia (FACT-An) and -Fatigue (FACT-F) subscales of FACT-General and the Mental adjustment to Cancer (MAC) questionnaires. Results were compared with tryptophan breakdown as well as serum concentrations of immune activation markers. RESULTS: Scores of psychological tests correlated significantly with tryptophan breakdown and with circulatory markers of inflammation. However, immune activation and tryptophan breakdown were not related to MAC scores. CONCLUSIONS: Tryptophan breakdown relates with fatigue and impaired quality of life in patients with lung cancer, while declining tryptophan levels are not associated with patients'coping strategies.

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