Supportive and Palliative Oncology Literature: Quantity, Scope, Design, Challenges, and Opportunities (508): Research SIG

Abstract

1.Review the quantity, scope and design of the recent supportive and palliative oncology literature.2.Examine the challenges unique to supportive and palliative oncology research.3.Discuss strategies for improving the quantity and quality of supportive and palliative oncology literature. The absolute number of palliative oncology studies has increased over time. However the proportion of palliative oncology publications related to the greater cancer literature has actually decreased. The supportive and palliative oncology literature is extremely diverse and highly complex. This session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the quantity, scope, and design of the palliative care literature based a recent systematic review, and to identify current challenges and opportunities for growth. The field of palliative care transects numerous health disciplines and domains, and covers a myriad of topics ranging from symptom management to psychosocial care, spiritual issues, health services, communication, decision making, ethics, education and research methodologies. The study population also varies widely, including patients with various oncologic diagnoses and at different stages of illness, their caregivers and health professionals. Common study designs to address research questions in the supportive and palliative oncology literature include case reports, case series, population-based studies, cross sectional surveys, cohort studies, randomized controlled trials and qualitative studies. Using a framework for classifying supportive and palliative oncology studies systematically, we will discuss various study designs used to investigate different research topics, and highlight areas of deficiency requiring further research. We will also provide an evidence-based review of the many challenges associated with conducting supportive and palliative oncology research, including limited funding, few trained personnel, difficulty in recruiting patients, high attrition rates, limited number of validated outcome measures, and lack of standardized definitions. Finally, we will discuss practical strategies to advance supportive and palliative oncology research. The last 10 minutes will be available for questions and discussions.