Providing care to adolescents with cancer in the process of death and dying has been a great challenge for health professionals. This challenge is marked by a high emotional burden and specificities of this stage of human development. The purpose of the present study was to review the scientific literature regarding palliative care to adolescents with cancer. This study is a literature review, which data collection was performed using Lilacs, Medline, and PsycInfo, in addition to non-systematic databases. An analysis of the manuscripts revealed three themes: adolescence and its different definitions; the particularities of adolescents with cancer; and palliative care to adolescents with cancer. The study showed there is a scarcity of evidenced-based research defining the panorama of symptoms affecting the quality of life during palliative care and an absence of specific programs in the stage of fast changes that, alone, demand for adaptive efforts.

This bibliographic study involved the Medline and LILACS databases as well as non-systematized searches and covered the period from 1994 to 2004. We aimed to analyze the bibliographic production on pediatric nursing and music, in order to identify current knowledge in this area. Our analysis revealed 3 units of meaning: the setting, interventions and repercussions. The results disclose the benefits music can offer to hospitalized children, their family members and health teams. We observed that music can be used in hospitals as a low-cost, nonpharmacological and noninvasive intervention, promoting development processes with a view to the health of children, families and workers.