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Purpose Randomized controlled trials have supported integrated oncology and palliative care (PC); however, optimal timing has not been evaluated. We investigated the effect of early versus delayed PC on quality of life (QOL), symptom impact, mood, 1-year survival, and resource use. Patients and Methods Between October 2010 and March 2013, 207 patients with advanced cancer at a National Cancer Institute cancer center, a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and community outreach clinics were randomly assigned to receive an in-person PC consultation, structured PC telehealth nurse coaching sessions (once per week for six sessions), and monthly follow-up either early after enrollment or 3 months later. Outcomes were QOL, symptom impact, mood, 1-year survival, and resource use (hospital/intensive care unit days, emergency room visits, chemotherapy in last 14 days, and death location). Results Overall patient-reported outcomes were not statistically significant after enrollment (QOL, P = .34; symptom impact, P = .09; mood, P = .33) or before death (QOL, P = .73; symptom impact, P = .30; mood, P = .82). Kaplan-Meier 1-year survival rates were 63% in the early group and 48% in the delayed group (difference, 15%; P = .038). Relative rates of early to delayed decedents' resource use were similar for hospital days (0.73; 95% CI, 0.41 to 1.27; P = .26), intensive care unit days (0.68; 95% CI, 0.23 to 2.02; P = .49), emergency room visits (0.73; 95% CI, 0.45 to 1.19; P = .21), chemotherapy in last 14 days (1.57; 95% CI, 0.37 to 6.7; P = .27), and home death (27 [54%] v 28 [47%]; P = .60). Conclusion Early-entry participants' patient-reported outcomes and resource use were not statistically different; however, their survival 1-year after enrollment was improved compared with those who began 3 months later. Understanding the complex mechanisms whereby PC may improve survival remains an important research priority.

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The mechanism(s) for chemotherapy-induced cognitive changes are largely unknown; however, several candidate mechanisms have been identified. We suggest that shared genetic risk factors for the development of cancer and cognitive problems, including low-efficiency efflux pumps, deficits in DNA-repair mechanisms and/or a deregulated immune response, coupled with the effect of chemotherapy on these systems, might contribute to cognitive decline in patients after chemotherapy. Furthermore, the genetically modulated reduction of capacity for neural repair and neurotransmitter activity, as well as reduced antioxidant capacity associated with treatmentinduced reduction in oestrogen and testosterone levels, might interact with these mechanisms and/ or have independent effects on cognitive function.Studies associating cognitive changes with cancer chemotherapy have been reported since the mid 1970s 1 ; however, systematic research on the cognitive side effects of chemotherapy did not appear until the 1990s. Over the past 10 years, neuropsychological studies of cancer survivors 2-8 and emerging data from longitudinal studies that include pretreatment neuropsychological assessments 9,10 have found evidence supporting the influence of chemotherapy on cognitive functioning, although negative studies have also been reported [11][12] . The cognitive changes associated with chemotherapy are typically subtle (functioning is reduced but often remains in the normal range), and occur across various domains of cognition, including working memory, executive function and processing speed [13][14][15][16] , but not the retrieval of remote memories (see BOX 1 for a description of the cognitive functions that can be affected by chemotherapy). Furthermore, although acute cognitive changes during chemotherapy are common 14,15 , long-term post-treatment cognitive changes seem to persist in only a subgroup (17-34%) of cancer survivors. Historically, cognitive changes in cancer patients were assumed to be related to psychological factors such as depression or anxiety, or other side effects of cancer treatments like fatigue. However, most of the studies cited above have found evidence for persistent post-chemotherapy cognitive changes after statistically controlling for © 2007 Nature Publishing Group Correspondence to T.A.A. ahlest@mskcc.org. Competing interests statementThe authors declare no competing financial interests. 17,18 . A reduction in the volume of brain structures important for cognitive functioning (such as the frontal cortex) and changes in the integrity of white-matter tracks that connect brain structures have been associated with changes in cognitive functioning, and have been seen using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on patients after chemotherapy. Recent data from a longitudinal study of breast cancer patients, who were evaluated with structural and functional MRI before treatment and 1 and 12 months after treatment, have suggested a pattern of reduced activation in frontal areas during a working memory...