Palliative Care Yields Cancer Wellbeing Support

NCT ID: NCT06259136

Last Updated: 2025-07-28

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

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1050 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-06-01

Study Completion Date

2027-08-31

Brief Summary

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The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a programme for transitional palliative cancer care (Pal-Cycles) in seven countries (the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Portugal) and its consequent effects on the number of readmissions into hospital.

The main hypothesis for the study is: that fewer people in the intervention arm of the study will require hospital re admission than those having usual care.

Participants will be asked to fill in questionnaires regarding their quality of care and quality of life.

Detailed Description

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The study described in this protocol, a stepped wedge clinical trial, is part of a larger research project named: The Palliative Care Yields Cancer Wellbeing Support Programme (Pal-Cycles). The aim is to test and evaluate the implementation of the Pal-Cycles intervention, by implementing it in 14 care setting across seven European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Portugal.) The primary focus of the evaluation will be on measuring the effect of the Pal Cycles intervention using the number of patients being readmitted into hospital after they had transferred to community care in comparison with patients receiving usual care. Additional relevant outcomes will also be gathered and analysed such as: the patient's quality of life, the experience from the family carer and the experience from the healthcare professional. Finally, an economic analysis will be embedded in the stepped wedge design.

The goals of the overarching research project are as follows:

1. To develop, implement and evaluate a transitional palliative cancer care intervention, with an intervention (the Pal-Cycles intervention) that aims for a smooth transition from the hospital to community-based care in the final months of life.
2. Adaptation of the transitional palliative cancer care intervention for patients with advanced cancer for its implementation in seven European countries within the project.
3. Training of oncologists in identifying patients with palliative care needs, establishing collaboratively comprehensive treatment and care plans, delivering patient-centred communication around discharge planning, advance care planning, and end-of-life care.
4. A clinical trial using a stepped wedge design will be implemented in fourteen care settingsacross seven European countries.
5. An implementation support intervention will guide the implementation of the clinical trial in all settings and will investigate barriers and opportunities for implementation and provide tailormade solutions where needed.
6. Dissemination of project results.

Conditions

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Cancer

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

For this study a cross-sectional stepped wedge clustered clinical trial will be conducted.

The design will start by an initial period in which all clusters e.g. different hospital sites, are part of the control group in which the patients receive care as usual. Subsequently, groups of clusters are exposed to the intervention at regular intervals (steps) until all clusters patients in all clusters have received care as defined in the intervention. The decision about which group of clusters will receive the intervention at which point in time is decided by randomization
Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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Pal-Cycles Intervention

The patients in the intervention arm will be exposed to the Pal-Cycles intervention.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

A transitional palliative care intervention

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

The Pal-Cycles intervention starts just before the care transition from curative oncology care to palliative care with a goals of care conversation between a hospital care provider and the patient. The conversation will be recorded in a summary of treatment and care form which will be completed by a hospital based clinician based on the key elements of the conversation with the patient and the treatment and care plan. Afterwards a (digital) copy of the form is given to the patient and another copy is sent to the general practitioner in combination with the discharge letter.

Care as usual

The patients included in this intervention will be given care as usual.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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A transitional palliative care intervention

The Pal-Cycles intervention starts just before the care transition from curative oncology care to palliative care with a goals of care conversation between a hospital care provider and the patient. The conversation will be recorded in a summary of treatment and care form which will be completed by a hospital based clinician based on the key elements of the conversation with the patient and the treatment and care plan. Afterwards a (digital) copy of the form is given to the patient and another copy is sent to the general practitioner in combination with the discharge letter.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Other Intervention Names

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Pal-Cycles intervention

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients aged 18 years or above
* Patients diagnosed with advanced cancer
* Patients that are expected to develop or already may have palliative care needs
* Patients who are in transition from curative (hospital) to palliative care (community care)

Exclusion Criteria

* People with cancer unable or unwilling to provide consent to participate in the study
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Lancaster University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University Hospital, Bonn

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Navarra

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University in Zielona Góra

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Pecs

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC)

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Universidade Católica Portuguesa

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Hospice Villa Speranza

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Radboud University Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Jeroen Hasselaar

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc)

Locations

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Radboudumc

Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Netherlands

Central Contacts

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Pippa van den Brand, MSC

Role: CONTACT

024 361 1111

Facility Contacts

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Pippa J. van den Brand, Msc

Role: primary

+31 0643478851

Ian Koper, PhD

Role: backup

Other Identifiers

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101057243

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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