According to a report on the Mount Sinai ‘Medicine Matters’ blog, the researchers evaluated 336 patients with stage IV cancer who were receiving radiation for symptomatic bone metastases. Of the 161 patients who received a combination of palliative care and short-course treatments (five or fewer sessions over the course of a week), the length of hospital stay declined by six days (from 18 to 12), the number of unfinished treatments dropped from 15 percent to 8 percent, and more patients accessed palliative care services within 30 days of finishing radiation (49 percent vs. 34 percent).
The study also reported a slight increase in the number of patients experiencing pain relief despite the reduction in radiotherapy.
Dr Kavita Dharmarajan, lead author of the study, said: “I feel strongly that as radiation oncologists, we can better serve these late-stage patients by treating them holistically, with radiation as well as non-radiation therapies, to manage their pain, nausea, fatigue, depression, and anxiety.”
You can read more about the research findings on the Mount Sinai ‘Medicine Matters’ blog.
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