Another Trial of Outpatient Palliative Care for Patients with Advanced Cancer

Does palliative care, offered by specialized teams early in the course of advanced cancer, improve outcomes? To address this question, researchers in Toronto conducted a randomized trial in which 24 cancer clinics at a comprehensive cancer center were assigned to provide either standard care or early palliative care referral (with monthly visits to an outpatient palliative care clinic, telephone support, and other measures). A total of 461 patients (233 control, 228 intervention) with advanced cancer (lung, gastrointestinal, breast, gynecologic, or genitourinary) but good performance status participated in the trial; nearly all patients were receiving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both. About 400 patients completed at least one follow…