Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
Association between the duration of palliative care service and survival in terminal cancer patients.
Preliminary studies of early palliative care showed improved quality of life, less medical cost, and better survival time. But, most terminal cancer patients tend to be referred to palliative care late. For the proper care of terminal cancer patients, it is necessary to refer to hospice and palliative care timely. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the duration of palliative care services on the survival in terminal cancer patients. ⋯ Shorter duration of palliative care services showed poor prognostic factor. Timely referral system from the end of chemotherapy is warranted.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
The impact of hospice care on survival and cost saving among patients with liver cancer: a national longitudinal population-based study in Taiwan.
The aim of this study was to compare health-care expenditures and survival of these terminally ill patients receiving or not receiving hospice care in their last month of life. ⋯ Hospice care did not significantly affect survival, and hospice patients had lower per-patient expenditures and were less likely to require high-cost medical care than their non-hospice counterparts.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2015
Palliative performance scale and survival among outpatients with advanced cancer.
Previous studies have examined the association between the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) and survival duration; however, few have examined patients with incurable cancer in the outpatient setting. In addition to exploring this association further, the purpose of this study was to identify key PPS markers that could serve as triggers to signify the need for key care discussions. ⋯ Given the ongoing challenge of inaccurate survival estimates, this data suggests what may be of greatest clinical utility is to use specific PPS ratings as triggers for key care discussions among patients with incurable and progressive cancer.