Targeted Timing of Palliative Care for Lung Cancer

KREMS, Austria - Dec. 14, 2022 - PRLog -- Choosing the appropriate timing for specialized palliative care can have a positive impact on life expectancy for patients with small cell lung cancer. This is the result of a recently internationally published study by the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences (KL Krems, Austria). There, the relevant data of 152 patients were evaluated at the Krems University Hospital. The result shows a differentiated picture: the life expectancy of those affected depends both on the reason for referral for special palliative care and on its starting time relative to the course of the disease.

The most recent recommendations of the WHO and others emphasize the timely start of palliative care for cancer patients who have no therapeutic option left. A distinction is made between special palliative care (SPC) and "normal" palliative care (PC), whereby special palliative care is carried out by a multi-professional team, including trained nursing staff as well as medical specialists, psychologists, and social workers. Numerous international studies prove an additional gain in quality of life and improvement of other parameters for SPC. But this more comprehensive care places high demands on the available resources, and thus the selection of the best period for SPC is becoming increasingly important. New insights into this complex and sensitive matter are now offered by a current study of the KL Krems University Hospital for Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, led by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Gudrun Kreye.