Palliative care plus cancer treatment had fewer symptoms of depression

The patients who were offered palliative care plus cancer treatment had fewer symptoms of depression. Only 16% showed symptoms of depression while 38% of patients getting only standard cancer treatment had symptoms of depression.

Although the patients receiving palliative care plus standard treatment were less likely to continue with aggressive treatment, they lived about 2 months longer than the patients receiving only standard cancer treatment alone.

The researchers explain their findings in several ways:

• The improvements in quality of life, such as fewer symptoms of depression, may have helped patients live longer;
• By pursuing less aggressive treatment, the patients enrolled in palliative care may have benefited from fewer toxic side effects which may have increased their will to live;
• Palliative care patients got earlier referral to hospice programs, and preparing for death in a supportive environment may have helped prolong life.

NOTE

A ground-breaking study published in the highly respected New England Journal of Medicine shows that palliative care, which helps manage symptoms and control pain, is a very effective addition to standard cancer treatment for people with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. The patients who had palliative care, which was offered as soon as they were diagnosed, suffered less depression, were less likely to receive aggressive end-of-life care, and lived longer.

Temel J, Greer J, Muzikansky A, Gallagher E, Admane S, Jackson V, Dahlin C, Blinderman C, Jacobsen J, Pirl W, Billings J, Lynch T: Early Palliative Care for Patients with Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Caner. New England Journal of Medicine 2010; 363:733-742.