Exploring patient awareness of palliative care - optimal timing and preferred approaches.

Objectives: To explore patients' awareness levels of palliative care (PC) and how this awareness shapes their preferences regarding the timing and approach for discussing it.

Methods: The study, conducted at a prominent institution specializing in oncology care, enrolled women aged 18-75 years who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Patients completed guiding questions: Do you know what PC is?, When is the most appropriate time and the most appropriate way to discuss PC?.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Posthumous Dignity Therapy Schedule of Questions to Brazilian Portuguese.

Objectives: Dignity Therapy (DT) is a brief form of psychotherapy that helps people with life-threatening illnesses and their loved ones cope with emotional pain and demoralization. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to receive DT during their lifetime. Posthumous Dignity Therapy (PDT) was then devised to be administered to bereaved family members.

A Research Protocol for a Phase II Single-Arm Clinical Trial Assessing the Feasibility and Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Anastrozole in Patients With Luminal Breast Cancer and Low Proliferative Index: The ANNE Trial.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) is recommended for the treatment of invasive breast cancer (BC), particularly luminal subtypes, in locally advanced stages. Previous randomized studies have demonstrated the benefits of aromatase inhibitors in this context. However, NET is typically reserved for elderly or frail patients who may not tolerate neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The Magee 3 Equation Predicts Favorable Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant health care challenge, and treatment approaches continue to evolve. Among these, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) has gained prominence, particularly for postmenopausal, hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-) BC patients. Despite this, a significant gap exists in identifying patients who stand to benefit from NET.

Go Wish card game-exploring end-of-life wishes of patients in oncology palliative care: a qualitative study.

Background: Among the methods that promote quality of life and care, discussing and remembering end-of-life (EOL) wishes for future care may contribute to decision-making about care and the promotion of a good death. Our aim was to investigate the most significant EOL desires among Brazilian cancer patients receiving palliative care (PC).

Methods: This was an exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative study conducted in a Palliative Care Oncology Unit.

When and how to discuss about palliative care and advance care planning with cancer patients: A mixed-methods study.

Objectives: To identify the patients who are most likely to participate in discussions about palliative care (PC) and advance care planning (ACP), and to determine their preferred timing and approach of discussion.

Methods: The study included women aged 18-75 years diagnosed with breast cancer. In the quantitative phase, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, knowledge, decision-making, and stigmas were evaluated.

Challenging Rationality: Examining the Belief in Cure Among Patients With Advanced Incurable Cancers.

Citing a recently published study, this letter to the editor highlights again the critical role of prognostic awareness in the decision-making process for cancer therapeutics.

Preference and actual place-of-death in advanced cancer: prospective longitudinal study.

Objectives: To evaluate the preferred place-of-death (PPoD) among patients with advanced cancer over time, and the concordance between preferred and actual place-of-death.

Methods: Prospective cohort study. A total of 190 patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers (n=190) were interviewed every 3 months, from study enrolment to 12 months (M0, M1, M2, M3, M4).

Clinical usefulness of the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and modified Glasgow Prognostic Score in decision making concerning the indication of enteral nutritional therapy in patients with incurable cancer receiving palliative care.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the clinical usefulness of assessing nutritional status using validated tools for the indication of enteral nutrition for patients with incurable cancer in palliative care.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, patients were assessed for nutritional risk using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and for cancer cachexia (CC) using the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score upon enrollment and after ∼30 d. The outcome was stable or improved Karnofsky Performance Status.

Burial or cremation? Factors associated with preferences among patients with cancer in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

Background: People living with life-limiting illnesses and their family caregivers consistently emphasize the importance of preparing for imminent death, with planned funerals being a common aspect of this preparation. Few studies have described the funeral rituals or post-mortem preferences of patients with cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the percentage of patients with cancer who wish to be cremated and to identify the factors associated with this preference.

To Treat or Not to Treat? Dilemmas when Deciding on Antineoplastic Treatment in Patients With Far Advanced Cancers.

Patients with advanced cancers and their oncologists are often faced with difficult treatment decisions, especially when there are borderline situations of expected benefit or increased risk of complications. In this narrative review, we will explore the decision-making process for patients with advanced cancers and provide insights on how to approach this complex task, while didactically dividing the oncologist's assessments according to a mnemonic rule of the ABCDE of therapeutic decision-making. Part A (advanced cancer) recalls that the rule is to be used specifically for advanced cancers.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Dignity Therapy Question Protocol to Brazilian Portuguese.

Objectives: Dignity therapy (DT) was developed to help patients at their end of life to reframe and give meaning to their illness process. The DT question protocol focuses on personhood and important aspects of the individual's life. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Dignity Therapy Question Protocol (DTQP) to Brazilian Portuguese.

"Mãos de Conforto" (Hands of Comfort): A novel non-pharmacological intervention to ease agitation in elderly persons with dementia.

Behavioral symptoms associated with dementia, such as agitation, are frequent and associated with well-known negative consequences for patients, their carers, and their environment. Pharmacological treatments for agitation using sedatives and antipsychotics are known to have several undesirable side effects and modest efficacy. Non-pharmacological alternatives are recommended as first-line options for agitation in persons with dementia with few side effects, but there is limited evidence of efficacy.

Relationship Between Religion/Spirituality and the Aggressiveness of Cancer Care: A Scoping Review.

Context: Religiosity/spirituality/religious-spiritual coping (RS) are resources used by cancer patients with cancer to help cope with the disease and may influence the preference and receipt of end-of-life (EOL) treatment.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between RS and the EOL care preferred or received by cancer patients.

Methods: This review protocol is registered on (International Prospective Register of Systematic Review, CRD42021251833) and follows the recommendations of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses checklist.

Personalizing the Setting of Palliative Care Delivery for Patients with Advanced Cancer: "Care Anywhere, Anytime".

The specialty of palliative care has evolved over time to provide symptom management, psychosocial support, and care planning for patients with cancer throughout the disease continuum and in multiple care settings. This review examines the delivery and impact of palliative care in the outpatient, inpatient, and community-based settings. The article will discuss how these 3 palliative care settings can work together to optimize patient outcomes under a unifying model of palliative care "anywhere, anytime" and how to prioritize palliative care services when resources are limited.

Inflammation and Performance Status: The Cornerstones of Prognosis in Advanced Cancer.

Context: In advanced cancer, although performance status (PS), systemic inflammatory response and nutritional status are known to have prognostic value, geographical variations and sociodemographic indexes may also impact survival.

Objectives: This study compares validated prognostic factors in two international cohorts and establishes a prognostic framework for treatment.

Methods: Two international biobanks of patients (n=1.

How to Advance Palliative Care Research in South America? Findings From a Delphi Study.

Context: Progress in palliative care (PC) necessarily involves scientific development. However, research conducted in South America (SA) needs to be improved.

Objectives: To develop a set of recommendations to advance PC research in SA.

Translation, Validity and Internal Consistency of the Quality of Dying and Death Questionnaire for Brazilian families of patients that died from cancer: a cross-sectional and methodological study.

Background: The Quality of Dying and Death Questionnaire (QoDD) may prove to be an important evaluation tool in the Brazilian context, and, therefore, can contribute to a more precise evaluation of the dying and death process, improving and guiding the end-of-life patient care.

Objective: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the QoDD into Brazilian Portuguese and measure its validity (convergent and known-groups) and internal consistency.

Design And Setting: A cross-sectional, methodological study was conducted at the Hospital de Câncer de Barretos, Brazil.

The palliative care triage system in advanced cancer emergency care: development and initial validation.

Objective: We aimed to develop and validate a new emergency triage tool for use on patients with cancer undergoing palliative care (PC).

Methods: In phase I, the new tool was developed after literature review and expert committee meetings. A prospective longitudinal study in phase II assessed the interobserver reliability of the tool.

Anticancer Treatment Goals and Prognostic Misperceptions among Advanced Cancer Outpatients.

(1) Background: In the context of cancer incurability, the communication processes involving clinicians and patients with cancer are frequently complex. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study that investigated outpatients with advanced cancers and their oncologists. Both were interviewed immediately after a medical appointment in which there was disease progression and/or clinical deterioration, and were asked about the patient’s chance of curability and the goals of the prescribed cancer treatment.

Where do Brazilian cancer patients prefer to die? Agreement between patients and caregivers.

Preferred place-of-death (PPoD) is considered an important outcome for the development of appropriate models of care and for improving health policies in countries with underdeveloped palliative care (PC) OBJECTIVES: To determine the concordance between the PPoD of a sample of Brazilian seriously-ill cancer patients and their caregivers, and its associated factors under four different end-of-life (EOL) scenarios: 1) health deterioration in the overall context; 2) health deterioration with severe and uncomfortable symptoms; 3) health deterioration receiving home-based visits as needed; 4) health deterioration receiving home-based visits as needed, when suffering severe and uncomfortable symptoms METHODS: Cross-sectional study at a large Brazilian cancer center, between February 2019 and July 2021. 190 adult cancer patients and their caregivers (n = 190) were analyzed RESULTS: Patient and/or caregiver PPoD concordance for EOL scenario one: 64% vs. 43% for death at home, 22% vs.

HAprog: A New Prognostic Application to Assist Oncologists in Routine Care.

Context: More patients are seeing palliative care (PC) earlier in the disease trajectory. The Barretos Prognostic Nomogram (BPN) was designed to fill the gap of survival prognostication for patients with advanced cancer and months of life expectancy. However, its routine use is limited by the common need for a ruler and calculator.

Cross-cultural adaptation and translation of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit-Quality of Dying and Death into Brazilian Portuguese.

Objectives: To translate and culturally adapt the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit-Quality of Dying and Death questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: This was a cross-cultural adaptation process including conceptual, cultural, and semantic equivalence steps comprising three stages. Stage 1 involved authorization to perform the translation and cultural adaptation.