Palliative Care News and Research

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Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

Palliative care consults for advanced cancer patients linked to improvement in multiple quality measures

Cancer patients admitted to the hospital with advanced stages of disease who were referred early to palliative care had decreased health care utilization and increased use of support services following discharge, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. c

17 Mar 2017

Education can empower cancer patients to use palliative care, study shows

People with cancer are more likely to use palliative care once they learn about its benefits, according to a study led by a Tulane University researcher recently published by the American Psychological Association.

14 Mar 2017

Physicians and patients often differ over priorities of pain treatment, research shows

Disagreements between doctors and patients over the priorities of pain treatment are common during primary care office visits, new research from UC Davis Health shows.

13 Mar 2017

Researchers survey cancer patients, nurses to identify priorities for future research into palliative care

How and when people are referred to palliative care should be prioritised according to cancer patients, a new study in the Oncology Nursing Forum has found.

6 Mar 2017

Scientists establish ‘tipping point’ molecular link between blood sugar and Alzheimer's disease

For the first time a "tipping point" molecular link between the blood sugar glucose and Alzheimer's disease has been established by scientists, who have shown that excess glucose damages a vital enzyme involved with inflammation response to the early stages of Alzheimer's.

24 Feb 2017

Community-based palliative care linked to reduction in ER visits for dying patients

Community-based palliative care -- care delivered at home, not the hospital -- was associated with a 50 percent reduction in emergency department visits for patients in their last year of life.

22 Feb 2017

New model of cervical cancer care reduces delay between diagnosis and treatment

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for women low- and middle-income countries, including Botswana, where 75 percent of cervical cancer patients suffer from advanced forms of the disease.

21 Feb 2017

New ASTRO guideline underscores safety, effectiveness of palliative radiation therapy for bone metastases

The American Society for Radiation Oncology recently published an updated clinical guideline that underscores the safety and effectiveness of palliative radiation therapy (RT) for treating painful bone metastases.

14 Feb 2017

Scientists discover treatment that improves symptoms in mouse model of juvenile Batten disease

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital and King's College London have discovered a treatment that improves the neurological symptoms in a mouse model of juvenile Batten disease.

6 Feb 2017

WHO's new guidance aims to improve chances of survival for cancer patients

New guidance from WHO, launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February), aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease earlier.

6 Feb 2017

VUMC’s V3 program that pairs volunteers with dying patients expanding in 2017

After a successful 2016 pilot, Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Vigil Volunteers (V3) program — which pairs volunteers with dying patients who either have no known family or friends, or whose family and friends are unable to be with them — is expanding in 2017.

30 Jan 2017

Knowledge bank approach could help find best treatment option for AML patients

An international collaboration led by clinical researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has shown proof-of-concept that truly personalised therapy will be possible in the future for people with cancer.

17 Jan 2017

Yoga during active treatment can provide QOL benefits for pediatric cancer patients and parents

A yoga program for children with cancer can be carried out even during cancer treatment, and has quality of life (QOL) benefits for the children as well as their parents, suggests a study in Rehabilitation Oncology, official journal of the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

5 Jan 2017

American Journal of Nursing declares 2016 winners of its annual Book of the Year Awards

The American Journal of Nursing (AJN) is pleased to announce the 2016 winners of its annual Book of the Year Awards. Winners in 19 categories appear in the journal's January issue. AJN, the "leading voice of nursing since 1900," is published by Wolters Kluwer.

30 Dec 2016

OPERA study evaluates patient perceptions of pain treatment with use of transdermal formulations

Clarity, a global international scientific research company, based in Austin, Texas, announces the latest results of its IRB-approved OPERA study.

21 Dec 2016

Routine blood test can predict survival of cancer patients in palliative care

A routine blood test can predict how long cancer patients in palliative care will survive, researchers report at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore.

17 Dec 2016

Geisinger physicians report opioid therapy to be ineffective in treating chronic pain

A new study by a pair of Geisinger Health System physicians reports that the use of opioid therapy to treat chronic pain is not only ineffective, it can actually increase the likelihood of more harmful consequences, including death.

8 Dec 2016

Study finds high rates of marijuana use among Baby Boomers

The recent legalization of recreational marijuana (cannabis) use in California, Colorado, and Washington reflect the sweeping changes in the attitudes and perceptions towards marijuana use in the United States.

6 Dec 2016

Hallucinogenic drug offers relief for people with cancer-related anxiety or depression

In a small double-blind study, Johns Hopkins researchers report that a substantial majority of people suffering cancer-related anxiety or depression found considerable relief for up to six months from a single large dose of psilocybin -- the active compound in hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms."

2 Dec 2016

Use of Frailty Screening Initiative linked to reduced risk of postoperative mortality and illness

In a study published online by JAMA Surgery, Daniel E. Hall, M.D., M.Div., M.H.Sc., of the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System and University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues examined the effect of a Frailty Screening Initiative on death and complications by comparing the surgical outcomes of patients treated before and after implementation of the FSI.

30 Nov 2016