Effect of Early Palliative Care on Quality of Life of Patients With Advanced Cancer: a Randomised Controlled Trial.

NCT ID: NCT01865396

Last Updated: 2021-12-01

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

268 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2013-04-30

Study Completion Date

2017-04-30

Brief Summary

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The World Health Organization (WHO) defines palliative care as an approach to improve the quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness, through prevention and relief of pain and of physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems. The WHO stresses that palliative care is applicable early in the course of the illness together with other therapies that are intended to cure or prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. For the benefit of the patient, palliative care is however often given (too) late in the course of the disease of incurably ill patients.

The aim of our study is to measure the effect of interventional palliative care on quality of life, mood and end-of-life care of patients with advanced cancer and their families. These patients have a limited life expectancy and a high symptom burden, this leads us to suggest that these patients may be benefited with palliative care soon after diagnosis of metastatic disease (interventional palliative care).

The research design of this study is a randomized controlled trial with, on the one hand, an intervention group in which patients and their families receive interventional palliative care in combination with standard cancer care and on the other hand a control group in which patients and their families receive only standard oncologic care. Participants in the intervention group will meet the palliative support team shortly after diagnosis. Afterwards, the palliative support will meet them at least once a month. This intervention focuses on topics such illness understanding, symptom management, decision making and coping with the disease. Participants in the control group will only meet with the palliative support team at the patient's own request or after referral by the oncologist or the nursing staff.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Life-limiting Cancer With Prognosis of Approximately 1 Year

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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early palliative care

Interventional palliative care, after diagnosis and once a month.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Interventional palliative care

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Palliative support team will meet the patient soon after diagnosis of incurable disease and will meet the patient at least once a month. The patient will also receive the standard oncologic care.

Standard care

Patients will receive the standard oncologic care.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Standard oncologic care

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Patients will receive standard oncologic care.

Interventions

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Interventional palliative care

Palliative support team will meet the patient soon after diagnosis of incurable disease and will meet the patient at least once a month. The patient will also receive the standard oncologic care.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Standard oncologic care

Patients will receive standard oncologic care.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

Patients with life-limiting cancer (prognosis of approximately 1 year) are eligible if:

* Patients are within 12 weeks of referral from an other hospital after receiving first line treatment or within 8 to 12 weeks of a new diagnosis (histological and cytological confirmed):

* Metastatic and advanced pancreatic, stomach, oesophageal and biliary tract adenocarcinoma;
* Metastatic or advanced NSCLC (stage IIIB or IV) or metastatic SCLC,
* Malignant pleural mesothelioma
* Metastatic or advanced head and neck cancer (stage III or IV)
* Patients are within 12 weeks of progression after receiving treatment and have an prognosis of approximately 1 year:

* Metastatic and locally advanced colorectal cancer, with progression after second line treatment
* Metastatic or advanced prostate carcinoma, after second line treatment
* Advanced breast cancer with visceral and/or brain metastasis, with progression on second or third line treatment
* Metastatic melanoma,
* Metastatic or advanced kidney cancer,
* Metastatic or advanced bladder cancer after first line treatment,

An Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1 or 2 and ability to read and respond to questions in Dutch.

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients under 18 years old
* Patients with impaired cognition
* Patients who met the palliative support team more then once or had a consultation within 6 months of inclusion.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Vrije Universiteit Brussel

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders, Belgium

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University Ghent

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Simon Vanbelle, MD, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

University Hospital, Ghent

Luc Deliens, PhD, MD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University

Locations

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Ghent University Hospital

Ghent, , Belgium

Site Status

Countries

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Belgium

References

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Vanbutsele G, Pardon K, Van Belle S, Surmont V, De Laat M, Colman R, Eecloo K, Cocquyt V, Geboes K, Deliens L. Effect of early and systematic integration of palliative care in patients with advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2018 Mar;19(3):394-404. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30060-3. Epub 2018 Feb 3.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 29402701 (View on PubMed)

Vanbutsele G, Van Belle S, De Laat M, Surmont V, Geboes K, Eecloo K, Pardon K, Deliens L. The systematic early integration of palliative care into multidisciplinary oncology care in the hospital setting (IPAC), a randomized controlled trial: the study protocol. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015 Dec 15;15:554. doi: 10.1186/s12913-015-1207-3.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 26666301 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2012/865

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id