Literature Review

Suicide deaths among adolescent and young adult patients with cancerJAMA Network Open; Koji Matsuo, MD, PhD; Christina J. Duval, BA; Briana A. Nanton, BS; Jennifer A. Yao, BA; Erin Yu, BS; Christian Pino, MD; Jason D. Wright, MD; 11/24The overall cancer incidence among adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients is increasing at an alarming rate in the US largely driven by thyroid cancer. Although cancer mortality continues to decrease among AYA patients, those who survive cancer are at elevated risk for emotional distress, mental health problems, and suicide. Together with the population-level increase in the US suicide death rate, the results of this assessment call for attention focused on the increasing suicide death rate among AYA patients with cancer, particularly male individuals. The proportion of AYA patients with cancer of thyroid, testis, or cutaneous melanoma who had a suicide death was greater than 2%, and they most benefit from a psychosocial and mental health evaluation. Because this study noted that many suicide deaths among these AYA patients with cancer occur years after the cancer diagnosis, long-term care and support for cancer survivors is recommended.

Rise in pancreatic cancer tied to better detection, study suggests Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Gregerson; 11/19/24 The rise in pancreatic cancer diagnoses can be attributed to previously undetected disease and not a rise in cancer occurrence, according to a study published Nov. 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers from Boston-based Brigham and Woman's Hospital and Austin, Texas-based Dell Medical School analyzed U.S. Cancer Statistics and National Vital Statistics System data of adults aged 15-39 from between 2001 and 2019 for the study. Here are five notes from their findings:

People with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) face disproportionate rates of harm in hospital setting  Parkinson's Foundation, New York and Miami; Press Release; 11/18/24 The Parkinson’s Foundation published a new article in the December issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety titled “Protecting Parkinson’s Patients: Hospital Care Standards to Avoid Preventable Harm.” The article identifies sustainable solutions to improve care in the hospital for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and details how these solutions may be generalized to develop a practical, disease-agnostic care model for all hospital and health systems that wish to avoid preventable harm. ... People with PD are at increased risk of hospitalization, with more than 300,000 people with PD hospitalized each year. While hospitalized, people with PD face increased risk of preventable harm, including longer hospital stays and deterioration of PD symptoms. Adverse outcomes range from temporary, such as higher rates of delirium, to permanent damage, including higher mortality.

Expert advocates for timely palliative care for patients experiencing heart failure during address to URI College of Nursing The University of Rhode Island. Kingston, RI; by Patrick Luce; 11/14/24 While palliative care is common for patients diagnosed with life-threatening conditions like cancer or Alzheimer’s Disease, it is less commonly prescribed to patients suffering from heart failure, a missed opportunity to provide enhanced care for those critical patients, according to Yale University Professor Shelli Feder, who addressed Rhode Island nurses, students and professors during [the URI College of Nursing Distinguished Lecture] on Nov. 13. ... Feder detailed a study ... that shows access to palliative care varies widely among patients suffering from heart failure. Reasons vary from heart failure often being diagnosed late, rendering palliative care irrelevant, to some local hospital systems lacking processes to refer cardiovascular patients to palliative care providers. Feder urges medical facilities to adopt specific policies for referring patients to palliative care to help guide providers’ behavior toward timely referral to palliative experts.

Knowledge of palliative care in men and women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancerAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; Evelyn Robles-Rodriguez, DNP, APN, AOCN; Ashley Weinmann, MSN, APN-C; Generosa Grana, MD, FACP; Teralyn Carter, MD; Bonnie Jerome-D’Emilia, PhD, MPH, RN; 10/24This sample of men and women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and being treated in a Cancer Center had limited knowledge and exposure to Palliative Care services across race and ethnicity. While no specific disparity was noted, the utilization of PC [palliative care] was low. Whether a function of a lack of referrals or patient preference, an effort should be made to increase PC referrals for all patients diagnosed with cancer.

National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, and American Cancer Society unveil Advanced Cancer Guide to Support Patients & Families Facing Terminal Cancer Cision - PR Newswire, Washington, DC; 11/13/24 Today, the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the national voice for nonprofit serious illness care providers, proudly introduces the Advanced Cancer Care Patient & Caregiver Guide, developed in collaboration with the American Cancer Society. This essential resource is designed to assist individuals living with cancer and their caregivers by providing critical information that enables them to receive care in the comfort of their own homes. ... This comprehensive guide aims to minimize hospital and emergency room visits, easing stress for patients, families, and medical facilities alike. Drawing on the expertise of over 100 serious illness care providers and the American Cancer Society, it delivers practical, reliable support for those navigating cancer care at home. Editor's note: The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is a sponsor for our newsletter.

Current burden of and geographic disparities in liver mortality and access to liver transplantJAMA Network Open; Nicolas S. Rinella, MS; William Charlton, BS; Gautham Reddy, MD; Paige McLean Diaz, MD; Michael R. Charlton, MD; 10/24This study suggests that rates of LRM [liver-related mortality] have increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic and vary several-fold between states. Rates of liver transplant are paradoxically lowest among residents living in states with the highest LRM. These findings highlight apparent geographic disparities in access to liver transplant that allocation policy cannot address.

Early palliative care may curb aggressive end-of-life care Medscape; by Marilynn Larkin; 11/6/24 Increasing the uptake of palliative care may decrease the aggressiveness of end-of-life care, an analysis of ovarian cancer decedents suggested. Palliative care initiated earlier than 3 months before death was associated with lower rates of emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in the last 3 months of life. It was also associated with a lower rate of death in the hospital. “When patients with advanced or incurable cancers experience aggressive end-of-life care, spending their final weeks of life in and out of the ED or admitted to acute care hospital wards or the ICU, where they undergo invasive tests or procedures that may not meaningfully prolong life or address symptoms or suffering, this can be very distressing for patients and their caregivers,” lead author Sarah J. Mah, MD, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, told Medscape Medical News.

Morphomics, survival, and metabolites in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancerJAMA Network Open; Valerie Gunchick, MS; Edward Brown, MS; Juan Liu, PhD; Jason W. Locasale, PhD; Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD; Stewart C. Wang, MD, PhD; Grace L. Su, MD; Vaibhav Sahai, MBBS, MS; 10/24In this large cohort study, we observed no association of BMI [body mass index] with survival for patients with metastatic PDA [pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma]. However, longer survival was associated with more subcutaneous fat and a higher muscle-to-fascia ratio, whereas shorter survival was associated with more dense visceral fat. In addition, we observed large-magnitude associations of subcutaneous fat and muscle-to-fascia ratio with several metabolites, which provide key biological insight.

Aging studies researchers receive $1.8M to educate dementia care providers on palliative care University of South Florida - College of Behavioral and Community Sciences; by School of Aging Studies; 10/30/24Faculty in the School of Aging Studies have been awarded $1.8 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Institute on Aging to support their work of implementing and analyzing the impact of a palliative care education intervention for staff in assisted living facilities caring for people living with dementia. Debra Dobbs, PhD, is the principal investigator on the project, and Lindsay Peterson, PhD, Hongdao Meng, MD, PhD, MPH, and William Haley, PhD, will serve as co-investigators. The team will also be collaborating with investigators from UNC-Chapel Hill, Miami University, Penn State, University of Iowa, Workforce & Quality Innovations, and community hospices from Chapters Health Systems and Empath Health.

Diagnosed with disease he studied, Stanford doctor puts his personal story at center of new class. NBC Bay Area; 10/24/24 Stanford Medicine physician Dr. Bryant Lin is the perfect professor to teach the course “From Diagnosis to Dialogue: A Doctor's Real-Time Battle with Cancer” at Stanford. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. The class focuses on the cancer journey of a non-smoking patient diagnosed with lung cancer. Dr. Lin is that patient. “I want to take something that is obviously very negative to me personally and get some benefit out of it for at least for other people,” Dr. Lin said. 20 years ago, Dr. Lin chose a career in medicine for a simple reason. “I wanted that personal connection and that satisfaction from helping people on a day-to-day basis,” Dr, Lin said. This same motivation led Dr. Lin to co-found Stanford’s Center for Asian Health Research and Education in 2018, with a particular focus on lung cancer in non-smokers. This is why Dr. Lin was (and in a way was not) surprised when earlier this year he found himself part of the 20% of lung cancer patients who have never smoked. ...  [Click on the title's link to continue reading this inspirational story.]

Busting palliative care misconceptions in cancer care Cure; by Alex Biese; 10/22/24 Palliative care can serve a crucial function for patients living with serious illnesses such as cancer, as an expert explained in an interview with CURE®. “Palliative care is sub-specialized health care for patients living with serious illness, where we're really focused on alleviating the symptoms and the stress associated with illness, and our goal is to improve quality of life for patients and their families,” said Dr. Cari Low of the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute. ... However, some misconceptions persist regarding palliative care — most prominently that it is synonymous with hospice care. ... "We [i.e., palliative care] follow patients from the time of diagnosis through their curative cancer treatment and throughout their journey and into survivorship. ... Hospice is really focused on end-of-life care and comfort when cancer treatments no longer make sense. So, I really think of palliative care as this great big umbrella of support throughout the entire journey, where hospice is just a tiny piece of that umbrella.”