Does Early Integration of Palliative Care and Cancer Treatment Benefit Patients?

Earlier integration of palliative care with cancer treatment was associated with “a significant survival advantage at 1 year”—but median survival times, quality of life, ER visits, ICU days, and symptom impacts were not statistically different, cautioned lead study author Marie Bakitas, DNSc, APRN, FAAN, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center in Birmingham, Alabama.