Early Specialist Palliative Care in Patients with Metastatic Cancer
A new population-based cohort study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management examined the frequency of the early integration of palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. The researchers found that only 8 percent of patients with newly diagnosed metastatic cancer received early specialist palliative care, despite clinical guidelines recommending early integration. The study highlights a persistent gap in access, with early palliative care more likely among patients with more comorbidities, diagnoses for symptoms or psychiatric conditions, cancer complications, and a higher likelihood of a serious hospitalization within the previous 12 months.