Patients with advanced cancer face not only limited treatment options but also complex challenges such as pain, anxiety, depression, and loss of life's meaning. To assist them, 'early palliative care' has been introduced. Early palliative care for cancer patients involves proactive intervention to alleviate symptoms and emotional and social issues from the early stages of diagnosis or during cancer treatment.

Research has shown that high-quality early palliative care more than doubles the survival rate of patients with advanced cancer and reduces depression by more than half. This study is significant as it is the first to demonstrate that the qualitative level of palliative care directly affects patient survival and quality of life, rather than merely whether palliative care was received.

The research team led by Professor Yoon Young-ho of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 22nd that they analyzed the impact of the quality of early palliative care on mental health, quality of life, self-management ability, and survival rate of 144 patients with advanced cancer across 12 hospitals in Korea.

This secondary analysis utilized randomized controlled clinical trial data conducted from September 2017 to October 2018, through which the research team confirmed differences in prognosis according to the quality of palliative care experienced by patients.

At the start of the study, the prevalence of depression in the two groups was similar at 35.5% and 40.3%, respectively, but after 24 weeks, the high-quality palliative care group significantly decreased to 14.7%. In contrast, the low-quality palliative care group remained at 39.1%, showing a clear difference between the two groups.

The two-year survival rate was also 25.0% in the high-quality palliative care group, compared to 11.8% in the low-quality palliative care group, showing a difference of more than double.

In the quality of life analysis, the high-quality palliative care group showed significant improvement in the existential and social support domains of the MQOL (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire) at the 24-week mark, but no distinct difference was observed between the two groups in the overall quality of life assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire). Self-management strategies showed significant improvement in both preparation and execution strategy scores at both the 18-week and 24-week marks in the high-quality palliative care group, indicating improved ability to prepare for and respond to disease crisis situations.

Professor Kang Eun-kyo of the National Cancer Center's Department of Family Medicine stated, "This study adds academic and policy significance to the previously under-evidenced area by proving that the 'quality' of early palliative care is directly linked to patient survival," and emphasized, "Quality management of palliative care is not an option but a necessity."

Professor Yoon emphasized, "In Korea, sufficient services are not yet being provided to patients in need of palliative care," and stressed the need to "expand palliative care services quantitatively while systematically evaluating and managing their qualitative level."

This study's findings have been published in the online edition of the international journal 'Pain and Symptom Management.'

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