http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22753912

J Clin Oncol. 2012 Jul 2. [Epub ahead of print]

Oncologists As Primary Palliative Care Providers.

Hoffman MA, Raftopoulos H, Roy R.

Source

Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ), New Hyde Park, NY.

TO THE EDITOR: The marked importance of palliative care interventions in the provision of high-quality oncology care has been brought into sharp focus by a landmark randomized trial by Temel et
al1 that was subsequently updated by Greer et al,2 which revealed a survival advantage to early palliative care compared with standard care in the management of patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer. Patients in the palliative care intervention arm also had an improved quality of life, less chemotherapy at the end of life, and earlier referral to hospice care. In his editorial on the study by Greer et al,2 Earle, who is a medical oncologist, cited the poor competence of oncologists in addressing palliative care/end-of life discussions and suggested that palliative care specialists be the primary discussants of difficult issues rather than medical oncologists.3 The American Society of Clinical Oncology has issued provisional guidelines that recommend that “combined standard oncology care and palliative care should be considered early in the course of illness for any patient with metastatic cancer.”4