Abstract
BackgroundThe five Nordic countries with a population of 27M people form a rather homogenous region in terms of health care. The management of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) is centralized to the 21 university hospitals in these countries. Our aim was to survey the current status of organization of palliative care for patients with HNC in the Nordic countries as the field is rapidly developing.Materials and methodsA structured web-based questionnaire was sent to all the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology managing HNC in the Nordic countries.ResultsAll 21 (100%) Nordic university hospitals responded to the survey. A majority (over 90%) of the patients are discussed at diagnosis in a multidisciplinary tumor board (MDT), but the presence of a palliative care specialist is lacking in 95% of these MDT’s. The patients have access to specialized palliative care units (n = 14, 67%), teams (n = 10, 48%), and consultants (n = 4, 19%) in the majority of the hospitals.ConclusionThe present results show that specialized palliative care services are available at the Nordic university hospitals. A major finding was that the collaboration between head and neck surgeons, oncologists and palliative care specialists is not well structured and the palliative care pathway of patients with HNC is not systematically organized. We suggest that early integrated palliative care needs to be included as an addition to the already existing HNC care pathways in the Nordic countries.
Highlights
More than 500,000 patients worldwide are annually diagnosed with Head and Neck squamous cell cancer and this corresponds with 380,000 deaths each year [1]
With the exception of one, answered that over 90% of their patients are discussed at an multidisciplinary tumor board (MDT) meeting
The majority (20/21, 95%) of the centers answered that no palliative care specialist is present at their MDT meeting
Summary
More than 500,000 patients worldwide are annually diagnosed with Head and Neck squamous cell cancer and this corresponds with 380,000 deaths each year [1]. It is obvious that health care professionals need to implement new strategies for both long-term HNC survivors and patients in palliative care with advanced HNC. This to provide better up to date medical care and psychological support. The management of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) is centralized to the 21 university hospitals in these countries. Conclusion The present results show that specialized palliative care services are available at the Nordic university hospitals. A major finding was that the collaboration between head and neck surgeons, oncologists and palliative care specialists is not well structured and the palliative care pathway of patients with HNC is not systematically organized. We suggest that early integrated palliative care needs to be included as an addition to the already existing HNC care pathways in the Nordic countries
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