EPCRC: Improved treatment of pain, depression and fatigue through translation research
Pain, depression and fatigue are subjective clinical manifestations of advanced cancer, affecting large patient groups. Even today, our understanding and management of these symptoms and conditions are insufficient. This project aims at improving the care by addressing diagnosis and classification as well as the underlying mechanisms. This will be done through research in several areas, in cooperation between clinicians, clinical researchers, and basic scientists.
The European Palliative Care Research Collaborative (EPCRC) consists of eight participating centres from six European countries: UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Norway.
The overall objectives are to develop new genetic methods for predicting individual variation of fatigue/Cachexia and response to opioid treatment for pain, and methods for assessment and classification of pain, fatigue (cachexia), and depression.
The collaborative´s proposal was successfully evaluated in 2006 and received EU funding for a three year period.
Public news!
Genetic markers for opioid responses - progress update
The group working on identifying profiles of genetic markers that best predict pain responses to opioid treatment have published a progress report. The report may be viewed in the Work Packages section, go to Pain - Genetic markers.
Progress update: Assessment and classification of depression
The group working on assessment and classification of depression, Work Package 2.2, have produced a report on their recent work. The report is posted in the Work Packages section in the menu to the left.
The list of EPCRC publications has been updated as of 14 June, 2010. The number of published articles and abstracts is steadily increasing. The list of abstracts includes the collaborative's contributions to the 6th EAPC Research Congress in Glasgow, 10-12 June 2010, and gives an overview of recent EPCRC activities.
Progress report: Cachexia definition and classification
The group working on the assessment and classification of cachexia have produced a report on their exciting recent progress. The report may be viewed in the Work Packages section in the menu to the left, work package 2.3.
EPCRC contributions at the 6th EAPC Research Congress
The next EAPC Research Congress will take place in Glasgow, UK, 10-12 June 2010.
Twenty-three abstracts from the EPCRC have been accepted for oral or poster presentation at the congress.
The EPCRC-CSA study, Computerised Symptom Assessment of Pain, Depression and Physical Function, closed on 23rd December 2009. The resulting data file has later been examined in detail, and the data is now finally ready for analysis. The file holds a total of 1073 complete registrations from 17 participating centres.
The groups working on the pain guidelines and depression guidelines have both published a report on their recent progress. The reports may be accessed in the Work Packages section in the menu to the left.
Cochrane review published: Antidepressants for depression in physically ill people
The group working on guidelines for prevention, assessment and treatment of depression in palliative care (Work Package 3.2) have produced a Cochrane review on the use of antidepressants in patients with a physical illness. The review was published in the Cochrane Library on 17th March, 2010.
The group working on assessment and classification of pain (Work Package 2.1) and the group working on serum markers for pain perception (Work Package 1.3) have both produced a progress report to share with the wider palliative care community. The documents are posted in the Work Packages section to be found in the menu to the left.
Fifth Bristol Opioid Conference: Revising the EAPC recommendations on opioids in cancer pain
The Fifth Bristol Opioid Conference was arranged 8th-9th February 2010 by the University of Bristol in co-operation with the EAPC and the EPCRC. The conference was dedicated to the ongoing project of revising the EAPC opioid guidelines.
Successful EPCRC project meeting in Milan, 29-30 October 2009
Thirty co-workers from the core EPCRC group met at the Floriani Foundation in Milan for a two day project meeting at the end of October 2009. Conclusions from the meeting show that all work packages are on track, and all scheduled deliverables will be submitted to the European Commission by the end of the project one year ahead.
Progress update: Assessment and classification of depression (WP2.2)
The group working on assessment and classification of depression in palliative care have published a progress report in relation to the EPCRC project meeting in Milan, 29-30 October 2009. The report is posted in the Work Packages section to be found in the menu to the left. Go to Depression - Classification and assessment to view the report.
The group working on guidelines for prevention, assessment and treatment of depression in palliative care have produced a progress report to share with the wider palliative care community. The document is posted in the Work Packages section to be found in the menu to the left. Go to Depression - Guidelines to view the report.
International consensus meeting on assessment of cancer pain
An international meeting was held at the Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute in Milan 9-10 September 2009. The aim of the meeting was to convene the most important international initiatives on the definition and standardisation of patient reported outcomes for assessment of cancer pain. The results of the meeting will be published as a position paper in an international journal.
By the end of August, more than 550 patients have been included in the ongoing EPCRC data collection. Patient inclusion will end on 23rd December. To reach the goal of 1,400 patients, several centres must speed up their inclusion rates. We expect increased activity once the summer holidays have ended.
Details are provided under Project Documents: Clinical Studies.
The European Commission has agreed to extend the EPCRC project by one year. The new project duration will be 48 months and the new closing date 1st November 2010.
The 11th Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care took place in Vienna, 7th-10th May 2009.
The EPCRC arranged three successful parallel sessions during the meeting.
