1444 - Integrated Palliative and Medical Oncology Care for Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Conventionally, palliative care services have been viewed as a terminal line of management when primary treatment is unsuccessful. Recent studies have shown that integration of palliative care medicine with medical oncology care substantially increases quality of life and survival duration in patients with non-small cell lung cancer1. This study was carried out in the Beaumont Hospital Cancer Centre highlighting the patterns of palliative care and medical oncology interventions in the management of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Methods Information from patient records, intranetwork hospital databases, pathological reports, pharmaceutical entries and clinical notes of all patients diagnosed with SCLC through the Rapid Access Lung Cancer Clinic (RALCC) between 2008 to 2011 was compiled into a database. Results Between 2008 to 2011, 58 patients presented to the RALCC and were diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. From this total amount, 50 patients were actively managed at our multidisciplinary centre. Of the 50 patients, 31 had extensive disease while 19 had limited disease. The median survival duration for actively treated patients with limited and extensive disease was 13 (range; 4 – 38) and 5.5 (range; 0.5 – 17) months respectively. 46 (92%) patients received chemotherapy with the most common regimen being Etoposide and Carboplatin combination. The other 4 (8%) patients did not receive chemotherapy due to various reasons mainly; patient's preference, rapid deterioration and low performance status. 40 (80%) patients of the total cohort received palliative care services. The remaining 10 (20%) patients did not receive palliative treatment as the disease was well controlled by chemotherapeutic interventions. All patients who did not receive medical oncology services benefitted from palliative care treatments. Conclusion This study revealed that almost all patients managed with medical oncology interventions had palliative care involvement, demonstrating significant integration between the disciplines. 1Temel et al. Early Palliative Care for Patients with Metastatic Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:733-42. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.