The oncologist
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Despite increasing prevalence of palliative care (PC) services in cancer centers, most referrals to the service occur exceedingly late in the illness trajectory. Over the years, we have made several attempts to promote earlier patient access to our PC program, such as changing the name of our service from PC to supportive care (SC). This study was conducted to determine the use of PC/SC service over the past 8 years. ⋯ In response to accumulating evidence on the benefits of palliative care (PC) referral to oncology patients, efforts are being made to increase PC use. This study, conducted at MD Anderson Cancer Center, demonstrates consistent annual growth in PC referrals, which was accompanied by a significant increase in the outpatient referral of patients with nonadvanced cancer and earlier referral of those with advanced cancer. However, significant variations in the referral patterns between oncology services were observed. These results have implications for other cancer centers looking to enhance use of PC services by having a business model that allows for appropriate space and staff expansion.
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Studies demonstrate that early palliative care (EPC) improves advanced cancer patients' quality of life (QOL) and mood. However, it remains unclear whether the role of palliative care differs based upon patients' demographic characteristics. We explored whether age and gender moderate the improvements in QOL and mood seen with EPC. ⋯ This study found that early palliative care improves patients' quality of life and mood differentially based on their age and gender. Specifically, males and younger patients receiving early palliative care experienced better quality of life and mood than those receiving oncology care alone. Conversely, females and older patients did not experience this treatment effect. Thus, palliative care interventions may need to be tailored to patients' age- and gender-specific care needs. Studying how patients' demographic characteristics affect their experience with palliative care will enable the development of interventions targeted to the distinct supportive care needs of patients with cancer.