Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN
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J Natl Compr Canc Netw · Sep 2006
ReviewLiver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: an update.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and the most common primary hepatic malignancy. It arises on a background of hepatic cirrhosis in approximately 95% of the cases in the United States. ⋯ Transplantation for patients whose tumors do not exceed the Milan criteria yields results equivalent to those of transplantation for non-HCC indications. Controversy now exists regarding the use of living donors, expansion of selection criteria, and role of adjuvant therapy.
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J Natl Compr Canc Netw · Sep 2006
Practice Guideline GuidelineIntegrating POLST into palliative care guidelines: a paradigm shift in advance care planning in oncology.
Because predicting and outlining guidance for all possible scenarios is difficult, advance directives are rarely sufficiently precise to dictate patient preferences in specific situations as a disease progresses. Nonetheless, advance care planning is an essential process that should begin at the time of diagnosis, if not already initiated, to ensure that all patient and family rights are preserved. Communicating effectively with the patient and family and having the patient designate a surrogate decision-maker are critical. ⋯ Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) and similar medical order forms provide explicit direction about resuscitation status ("code status") if the patient is pulseless and apneic. POLST also includes directions about additional interventions the patient may or may not want. A decade of research in Oregon has proved that the POLST Paradigm Program more accurately conveys end-of-life preferences that are more likely to be followed by medical professionals than traditional advance directives alone.