The effect of routine early palliative care (PC) consultation on aggressiveness of care at the end of life (EOL) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Lung cancer and end-of-life care: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of aggressive inpatient care

“…Notably, according to a prospective analysis of patients with lung cancer, oral chemotherapy was the only factor associated with the probability of receiving chemotherapy during the last 14 DOL 75. The EOL-chemotherapy rate did not differ significantly according to treatment line51: 39% for first line, 28% for second line and 33% for third or more line 51…”

“…The impact of EOL treatment on the quality of care was examined in several studies 34 41 51 76 77. One compared three patient groups: no chemotherapy, conventional chemotherapy but not during the last 14 DOL and late chemotherapy including during the last 14 DOL 76.…”

“…That step identified 150 references. The second step was restricted to articles analysing—at least in part—lung cancers, excluding case reports and general reviews; it found 42 publications examining one or several indicators of EOL-care aggressivity of patients with lung cancer that were read in their entirety 11 14 16 23–65…”

Effect of Early Palliative Care on Quality of Life in Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

“…As Temel et al demonstrated, early palliative care could lead to better management of symptoms, including prolonged survival and stabilization of patients' condition 30 . In consideration of the progressive character of nsclc, improving quality of life and mood in patients with this illness is a formidable challenge 31 .To date, several studies have been reported that early palliative care for patients with advanced nsclc could improve quality of life, decrease aggressive care at the end of life and possibly enhance survival 32,33 . Early palliative care was also reported to result in less aggressive end-of-life care, including decreased chemotherapy and longer hospice care 34 .…”