Early, virtual palliative care feasible for advanced lung cancer

The delivery of early, virtual palliative care has similar effects on quality of life as in-person care in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study published online Sept. 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Joseph A. Greer, Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues evaluated whether delivering specialty-trained early palliative care via secure video versus in-person visits has an equivalent effect on quality of life in patients with advanced NSCLC. The analysis included 1,250 patients within 12 weeks of diagnosis of advanced NSCLC and 548 caregivers treated at 22 U.S. cancer centers from June 14, 2018, to May 4, 2023.

The researchers found that by 24 weeks, participants (mean age, 65.5 years; 54.0 percent women) had a mean of 4.7 (video) and 4.9 (in-person) early palliative care encounters. The groups had similar patient-reported quality-of-life scores (video mean of 99.7 versus in-person mean of 97.7). For video visits, rate of caregiver participation was lower than in-person early palliative care (36.6 versus 49.7 percent). Study groups were similar for caregiver quality of life, patient coping, or patient and caregiver satisfaction with care, mood symptoms, or prognostic perceptions.

“Findings underscore the potential to increase access to evidence-based early palliative care through telehealth delivery,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to industry.

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