Changes in Performance Status and Symptom Distress in Older Patients With Advanced Ovarian Epithelial Cancer Undergoing Surgery and/or Chemotherapy

RATIONALE: Measuring changes in performance status and symptoms distress in patients with cancer may help doctors predict how patients will respond to treatment, and may help the study of cancer in the future.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying changes in performance status and symptoms distress in older patients with advanced ovarian epithelial cancer undergoing surgery and/or chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To evaluate the changes in performance status and symptom distress in older patients with presumed or advanced ovarian cancer undergoing surgery and/or chemotherapy.

Secondary

• To explore the association between these changes with chemotherapy drug change, dose reduction, or dose delay due to toxicity in these patients.
• To explore the association between these changes with the development of surgical complications in these patients.
• To observe the response in the Geriatric Assessment (GA) and report the individual item scores.

OUTLINE: Patients complete the Palliative Performance Scale and the McCorkle Symptom Distress Scale questionnaires at baseline, at 10-20 days after surgery*, at 14-21 days after courses 3 and 6 of chemotherapy ( if applicable), and at approximately 2-3 months at the patient's first follow-up visit. The research team completes the Professional Geriatric Assessments. Patients' medical records are also reviewed for any surgical complications, chemotherapy toxicities, dose reductions or delays, or change in medications secondary to chemotherapy toxicities.

NOTE: *Patients who complete the assessments and questionnaires at baseline but who are found not to have ovarian cancer during surgery will remain eligible for assessment of surgical complications.

Patients who undergo surgery for presumed ovarian cancer, and those diagnosed with ovarian cancer who undergo surgery and chemotherapy treatment

• Other: Palliative Performance Scale version 2 (PPSv2)
  PPSv2 is arrayed on a scaled from 10 (bedbound) to 100 (full ambulation) at 10 points increment. It will be administered beginning at baseline, post surgery (at the first post-operative clinic visit), 14-21 days post chemotherapy (post cycle 3 and post cycle 6), and at the first follow-up visit
• Other: McCorkle Symptom Distress Scale (SDS)
  A 13-item scale of SDS is used to indicate the degree of distress for a given symptom on a 5 point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (least amount of distress) to 5 (extreme distress). This will be administered at baseline, post surgery (at the first post-operative clinic visit), 14-21 days post chemotherapy (post cycle 3 and post cycle 6), and at the first follow-up visit
• Other: Geriatric Assessment
  This will evaluate the subject's overall geriatric status. The first part will be filled out by the study team and the second half of the assessment will be populated with information provided by the subject. This will be completed at baseline, 2 weeks post-surgery and 14-21 days after completing cycle 3 and cycle 6.
• Other: Medical Records Abstraction
  Data collected from medical records will include information on surgical complications and chemotherapy toxicities, dose reductions, and any change in choice of chemotherapy drug. This will occur continuously throughout the study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Clinical findings highly suggestive of advanced ovarian epithelial cancer undergoing surgery for definitive diagnosis and staging
• No prior diagnosis of ovarian cancer

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Able to read and speak English
• Able to comply with study requirements

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics