scholarly journals Comprehensive metastatic lung cancer care must include palliative care

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Rosenblum ◽  
M. Chasen

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2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 126-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Ruth Bauman ◽  
Zofia Piotrowska ◽  
Emily Scribner ◽  
Brandon Temel ◽  
Rebecca Suk Heist ◽  
...  

126 Background: Metastatic lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the US. In the last decade, however, patients (pts) with EGFR mutations have benefitted from improved outcomes with EGFR-directed targeted therapy. We hypothesized that this improvement might impact EOL care. The objective of this chart review was to describe the care of EGFR mutant pts with attention to EOL care, health care utilization, and palliative care use. Methods: With IRB approval, we retrospectively reviewed medical records of pts at our center diagnosed with advanced EGFR-mutant lung cancer from January 2009 to June 2012. We limited the review to pts who had at least one cancer therapy at MGH, and to those who died by June 2014. Results: 44 pts were included. 30 pts (68%) were female. 32 pts (73%) received cancer-directed therapy within 30 days of death. Of these, 30 pts (68%) received oral chemotherapy and 5 (11%) received IV chemotherapy. 30 pts (68%) were hospitalized within 30 days of death. Over their entire disease course, the median number of hospitalizations was 2 (0-8), and the median number of total inpatient days was 12 (0-88). 21 pts (48%) had a palliative care outpatient visit and 34 (77%) had an inpatient palliative care consult at some point during their care. 24 pts (54%) enrolled on hospice prior to death, 15 (34%) were never on hospice, and the hospice status of 5 (11%) was unknown. Of the 39 pts with known hospice status, median length of stay was 6 days (0-206). 23 pts (52%) died at home with hospice or in an inpatient hospice, 16 (36%) died in the hospital, 2 (4%) died at home without hospice, and the location of death was unknown for 3 (7%). Conclusions: Pts with EGFR mutations had high rates of hospitalization and chemotherapy use in the last month of life, and many died in the hospital. Palliative care utilization was high, but it is unclear how this affected EOL care. Designing innovative care models to support this unique population and understand EOL decision-making should be a priority.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (29_suppl) ◽  
pp. 165-165
Author(s):  
Felix Manuel Rivera Mercado ◽  
Carol Luhrs ◽  
Alice Beal ◽  
Maura Langdon ◽  
Joan Secrest ◽  
...  

165 Background: The 2012 ASCO provisional clinical opinion addressed the integration of palliative care into standard oncology practice at the time a person is diagnosed with metastatic or advanced cancer. The inclusion of Palliative Care among the National Quality Forum (NQF) framework represented a major advance in palliative care. NQF metrics include chemotherapy administered in the last 14 days of life, hospice less than 3 days before death, ICU or hospital admission, more than one Emergency Room visit in the last 30 days, and death in hospital. Although the use of hospice and other palliative care services has increased, many are enrolled in hospice less than 3 weeks before death. By improving quality of life, cost, and survival in patients with metastatic cancer, palliative care has increasing relevance for the care of patients with cancer. Methods: Retrospective chart review study of lung cancer patients diagnosed at VA from 2010-2013. Inclusion criteria: > 18 years of age with new diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer. Exclusion criteria: < 18 years of age, Stage I-III lung cancer. Results: Total of 125 patients were diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. The mean time from diagnosis to death was only 185 days (6.1 months). The VA NYHHS patients were more likely to visit the ED, be admitted to the hospital and ICU in the last 30 days of life, and subsequently die in the hospital. Conclusions: Several confounders were identified, including climate related closure of facilities (2012 Sandy storm), lack of social support, low ICU admission criteria, burial benefits for patients dying in a VA, and delay in transition to Hospice. Currently 392 patients with stage IV solid tumors diagnosed 2010-2014 are being studied. [Table: see text]


Cancer ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (14) ◽  
pp. 3044-3051 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Goldwasser ◽  
Pascale Vinant ◽  
Régis Aubry ◽  
Philippe Rochigneux ◽  
Yvan Beaussant ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 135-135
Author(s):  
Kathrin Milbury ◽  
Yisheng Li ◽  
Sania Durrani ◽  
Zhongxing X. Liao ◽  
Claire Chunyi Yang ◽  
...  

135 Background: Although mindfulness-based interventions have been widely examined in patients with early stage cancer, the feasibility and efficacy of these types of programs are largely unknown in the palliative care setting. We developed a couple-based intervention integrating meditation training with emotional disclosure exercises to target psychological distress in patients with metastatic lung cancer and their partners. Methods: Dyads completed baseline self-report measures and were then randomized to a couple-based meditation (CBM), a supportive-expressive (SE), or a waitlist control (WLC) group. Couples in the CBM and ES groups attended 4 weekly, 60 min. therapist-led sessions that were delivered via FaceTime. All groups were reassessed 1 month and 3 months later. Results: Seventy-five patients (51% female; mean age = 64 years) and their partners’ (52% female; mean age = 64 years) were randomized (63% consent rate) of which 79% completed the first and 65% completed the second follow-up assessments. Attrition was mainly due to patients’ death (44%). Although attendance was high in both groups (means: CBM = 3.12; SE = 3.08), dyads in the CBM group indicated greater benefit (P < .003) and usefulness (P < .05) of the sessions compared to those in the SE group. Compared with the WLC group, patients in the CBM group reported significantly lower depressive symptoms (P = .02; d = .49; CES-D means: CBM = 7.87; SE = 11.51; WLC = 12.76) and cancer specific distress (P = .05; d = .44; IES means: CBM = 12.40; SE = 16.34; WLC = 18.22). Similarly, compared with the WLC group, partners in the CBM group reported significantly lower depressive symptoms (P = .02; d = .58; means: CBM = 7.18; AC = 8.91; WLC = 11.62). For both patients and partners, there were no effects between SE and WLC groups. While small effects (d = .22-.42) in favor of the CBM group relative to the SE group were revealed, these differences were not significant. Conclusions: It seems to be feasible, acceptable and possibly efficacious to deliver dyadic interventions via FaceTime to couples coping with metastatic lung cancer. Mindfulness-based interventions may be of value to manage symptom burden in the palliative care setting. Clinical trial information: NCT02596490.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 211-215
Author(s):  
Arunangshu Ghoshal ◽  
Jayita Deodhar ◽  
Chandana Adhikarla ◽  
Avinash Tiwari ◽  
Sydney Dy ◽  
...  

Objectives: Access to early palliative care (EPC) for all patients with metastatic lung cancer is yet to be achieved in spite of recommendations. This quality improvement (QI) project was initialized to improve the rates of such referrals from the thoracic oncology clinic for all new outpatients in a premier cancer center in India. Materials and Methods: Change in the proportion of patients receiving referrals for EPC during and after intervention (April–May 2018), compared to baseline (January–March 2018) were explored. Interventions included understanding of the process flow, identification of key drivers, and root cause analysis which identified the gaps as lack of documentation for EPC. Teaching and encouraging staff at the clinic to incorporate referrals into all initial visits for patients with metastatic lung cancer were incorporated. Results: The bundle of QI interventions increased referrals from an average of 50% to 75%, mean difference = 12.64 (standard deviation = 10.13) (95% confidence interval = 22.01–3.29), P = 0.016 (two-tailed) on paired sample test. Conclusion: Improved referral rates for EPC in a multidisciplinary cancer clinic is possible with a QI project. This project also identifies the importance of data documentation and patient information processes that can be targeted for improvement.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6614-6614
Author(s):  
Chebli Mrad ◽  
Marwan S Abougergi ◽  
Robert Michael Daly

6614 Background: Prior studies have demonstrated that high-intensity end-of-life care improves neither survival nor quality of life for cancer patients. The National Quality Forum endorses dying from cancer in an acute care setting, ICU admission in the last 30 days of life, and chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life as markers of poor quality care. Methods: Discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample database was analyzed for 3,030,866 acute care hospitalizations of metastatic lung cancer patients between 1998 and 2014. Longitudinal analysis was conducted to determine trends in aggressive care at the end-of-life and multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine associations with age, race, region, hospital characteristics, and aggressive care. Results: In-hospital mortality for metastatic lung cancer patients decreased from 17% to 11%. Among terminal hospitalizations, utilization of radiation therapy and chemotherapy decreased from 4.6% to 3.0% and from 4.8% to 3.0%, respectively. However, the proportion admitted to the ICU increased from 13.3% to 27.9% and invasive procedures increased from 1.2% to 2.0%. Reflecting this aggressive end-of-life care, mean total charges for a terminal hospitalization rose from $29,386 to $72,469, adjusted for inflation. Among patients who died in the inpatient setting, the ICU stay translated into higher total costs (+$16,962, CI: $15,859 to $18,064) compared to patients who avoided the ICU. Promisingly, palliative care encounters for terminal hospitalizations increased during this period from 8.7% to 53.0% and was correlated with a decrease in inpatient chemotherapy (OR = 0.56, CI: 0.47 to 0.68), radiotherapy (OR = 0.77, CI: 0.65 to 0.92), and ICU admissions (OR = 0.48, CI: 0.45 to 0.53) but had only a modest impact on terminal hospitalization cost (-$2,992, CI: -$3,710 to -$2,275). Multivariable analysis showed variation by patient and hospital characteristics in aggressive care utilization. Conclusions: Among patients with metastatic lung cancer there has been a substantial increase in ICU use during terminal hospitalizations, resulting in high cost for the health care system. Inpatient palliative care has the potential to reduce aggressive end-of-life interventions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 123-123
Author(s):  
Yan S Kim ◽  
Esther J Luo ◽  
Matthew T Chin ◽  
Shelley Leong ◽  
Sudhir S Rajan ◽  
...  

123 Background: The American Society of Clinical Oncology has endorsed early integration of oncology with palliative care. In 2012, Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) introduced Oncology Supportive Care Clinics (OSCCs). OSCCs are outpatient palliative care clinics designed to incorporate palliative care into standard oncology practice at the time of a patient's cancer diagnosis. This study examines the utilization and impact of OSCCs on patients with metastatic lung cancer. Methods: We identified adult patients with incidental stage IV lung cancer using the KPNC cancer registry from 2012-2015 and followed them for 12 months. We ascertained OSCC utilization using KPNC’s electronic health record. We examined the patterns of OSCC referral/utilization and compared survival, in-hospital death, and treatment received in patients who used and did not use OSCC services. Results: A total of 607 patients were included and 245 (40.4%) were referred to OSCC. The median time from diagnosis to referral was 48 days and ¼ were referred within 15 days. The majority (86%) of the patients referred were seen by OSCC. Only 22 patients (9.0%) refused to be seen. We found no large patient- or facility-level differences between patients referred and not referred to OSCC. At the end of follow up, 398 (65.6%) of the patients died. Patients seen by OSCC were less likely to die (59.2% vs. 68.9%, p < 0.02) at 1 year. Fewer patients who used OSCC died in the hospital compared to those who did not (26 or 12.3% vs. 67 or 16.9%); however, it did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.13). Among patients who used OSCC, 166 (78.7%) received anti-cancer treatment, compared to 221 (55.8%) among those who did not (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Despite having a robust infrastructure and integrated system in place, over half of the patients diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer did not receive a referral. Future work is needed to understand the reasons why so many patients were not referred. Furthermore, our data showed that receiving OSCC services did not adversely impact survival and the receipt of anti-cancer treatment. These findings serve to reassure patients and providers that the addition of palliative care does not harm patients or limit their treatment.


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