Article
Oncology
Alia Alawneh, Huda Anshasi
Summary: Hospital death is more common than home death in cancer patients in Jordan. Independent predictors for dying at home include male gender, age over 65, early involvement in palliative care, and utilization of home care services.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2021)
Article
Nursing
Kristianna Hammer, Hildigunn Steinholm Hojgaard, Bjarni A. Steig, August G. Wang, Heidi M. Bergenholtz, Elizabeth E. Rosted
Summary: Hope is an integral part of a dying person's needs and an important phenomenon that needs further exploration. This study used drawings and post-drawing interviews to investigate the experiences of hope among newly diagnosed patients with advanced cancer. The findings revealed that hope was expressed through color, shape, lines, symbols, and metaphors, and it incorporated internal, external, relational, and transcendental aspects. Hope was constantly battling hopelessness, and it integrated with past, present, and future.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Jordan Hill, Mohannad Alhumaid, Sunita Ghosh, Alexander Le, Sharon M. Watanabe, Alysa Fairchild
Summary: Assessment for palliative radiotherapy (PRT) by a dedicated multidisciplinary team provides a comprehensive picture of patient needs and streamlines PRT delivery.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Claudia Wachter, Klaus Hackner, Iris Groissenberger, Franziska Jutz, Lisa Tschurlovich, Nguyen-Son Le, Gudrun Kreye
Summary: Timely integration of specialized palliative care (SPC) is crucial for improving the quality of life and survival of patients with advanced small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).
Article
Oncology
Tomoo Ikari, Yusuke Hiratsuka, Shao-Yi Cheng, Mitsunori Miyashita, Tatsuya Morita, Masanori Mori, Yu Uneno, Koji Amano, Yuko Uehara, Takashi Yamaguchi, Isseki Maeda, Akira Inoue
Summary: This study aimed to identify factors associated with a good death evaluated by the Good Death Scale (GDS) among inpatients with advanced cancer in palliative care units (PCUs) in Japan. The study found that factors such as preferred place of death at PCU, longer survival time, not sudden death, better spiritual well-being in the last 3 days of life, and better communication between patient and family were significantly associated with a better GDS score.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Shamsah Lakhani, David A. Scalzitti, Laura Padrone, Diana Martins-Welch
Summary: This study conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with newly diagnosed metastatic cancer or advanced hematologic malignancy referred to a palliative care team at a comprehensive cancer center. It found that only 39% of patients were referred to the palliative care team within 8 weeks of their diagnosis, indicating the need for a consensus on operationalizing the palliative care team.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Sebastiano Mercadante, Fausto Giuliana, Rosanna Bellingardo, Gianluca Albegiani, Grazia Di Silvestre, Alessandra Casuccio
Summary: This study investigated the admission patterns and characteristics of advanced cancer patients in a hospice connected to an acute supportive/palliative care unit (ASPCU). Results showed that patients admitted from ASPCU had lower overall symptoms compared to those referred from other settings, but only a small portion of patients were evaluated on the day before death. The study also found that a minority of patients received palliative sedation during hospice care follow-up.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Yvonne Heung, Donna Zhukovsky, David Hui, Zhanni Lu, Clark Andersen, Eduardo Bruera
Summary: To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer, a comparison was made between a random sample of inpatient deaths from April to July 2019 and inpatient deaths from April to July 2020 at a comprehensive cancer center. The study found that during the pandemic, there were earlier do-not-resuscitate orders and palliative care referrals, as well as a decrease in deaths in the Intensive Care Unit and an increase in deaths in the Palliative Care Unit. These findings suggest an improvement in the quality of end-of-life care in response to the pandemic, which may have future implications.
Article
Oncology
Jae Hyun Lee, Jin Lim, Seung Jun Han, Sung do Moon, Hongran Moon, Seo-Young Lee, Hyeanji Kim, Hee-Won Jung
Summary: Although the association between anticholinergic burden and adverse outcomes in older adults is known, its clinical importance in patients with advanced cancer is less studied. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impacts of using anticholinergic medications in older patients with cancer. The results showed that increased anticholinergic burden during hospitalization is a predictor of worsening clinical features and higher mortality in older patients with cancer. Further studies investigating the causal relationship between increased anticholinergic burden and poor prognosis are warranted.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Satoko Ito, Tatsuya Morita, Yu Uneno, Tomohiko Taniyama, Yosuke Matsuda, Hiroyuki Kohara, Isseki Maeda, Takeo Nakayama, Masanori Mori
Summary: This study aimed to clarify the incidence and associated factors of sudden unexpected death in advanced cancer patients. The results showed that sudden unexpected death is not uncommon, with male sex, liver metastasis, dyspnea, and other factors significantly increasing the risk of occurrence.
Article
Oncology
Alex Corbera, Alejandro Rios-Hoyo, Laura Visa, David Casadevall, Lucas Ilzarbe, Luis Barranco, Aleksandar Radosevic, Sonia Servitja
Summary: This retrospective study investigated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with malignant bile duct obstruction who underwent biliary stent placement. The study found that biliary stent placement effectively reduced hyperbilirubinemia, but also had a significant rate of infectious complications.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Nele Harnischfeger, Hilke M. M. Rath, Bernd Alt-Epping, Hannah Brand, Karl Haller, Anne Letsch, Nicola Rieder, Peter Thuss-Patience, Carsten Bokemeyer, Karin Oechsle, Corinna Bergelt
Summary: This study investigated the role of oncologists' personal death anxiety in the rare occurrence of palliative care and end-of-life conversations with advanced cancer patients. The results showed that oncologists had difficulties in addressing these topics and tended to avoid them. Death anxiety was associated with more avoidant communication strategies, lower self-efficacy, and less confidence in discussing end-of-life care and patients' goals and wishes.
Article
Oncology
Hyunji Lim, Seung Hyun Bang, Yeorae Kim, Sang Hyun Cho, Wonkyo Shin, Se Ik Kim, Tae Hun Kim, Dong Hoon Suh, Myong Cheol Lim, Jae-Weon Kim
Summary: The study aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery (NAC-IDS) in unresectable, metastatic endometrial cancer. The results suggest that NAC-IDS may be a treatment option, with tumor histology and the possibility of complete cytoreduction as the primary considerations.
Article
Oncology
Jonas Sorensen, Per Sjogren, Stine Novrup Clemmensen, Tanja Vibeke Sorensen, Katja Heinecke, Geana Paula Kurita
Summary: The study compared symptom prevalence and analgesic treatment in adult in-patients at a comprehensive cancer center in 2011 and 2019. While overall symptom burden remained high, there was an improvement in pain management in 2019 with significant increase in prescription of opioid and adjuvant analgesics.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Lucka Boltezar, Barbara Jezersek Novakovic, Maja Ebert Moltara
Summary: In the specialized palliative care services at the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana, Slovenia, there has been a positive trend in increased referrals, a longer time from referral to death, and an increase in the proportion of patients referred at least 3 months before death. Age and sex did not correlate with the length of referral time.
BMC PALLIATIVE CARE
(2021)