Effect of palliative care services on the aggressiveness of end-of-life care in the Veteran's Affairs cancer population.

Background: Cancer care near the end of life (EOL) has become more aggressive over the years. Palliative care services (PCS) may decrease this aggressive cancer care in terminally ill cancer patients. Our objective was to observe the aggressiveness of cancer care near the EOL among Veterans Affairs cancer patients before and after the institution of a PCS team.

Clinicopathologic factors associated with lymph node retrieval in resectable colon cancer: a Veterans' Affairs Central Cancer Registry (VACCR) database analysis.

Background: A long-term determinant of survival in resectable colon cancer is the involvement of regional lymph nodes. We evaluated the clinicopathologic factors associated with lymph node retrieval.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with resected stage I-III colon cancer in the Veteran's Affairs Central Cancer Registry between 1995 and 2008.