How Many Cancer Patients Need Palliative Care? A Population-Based Study.

J Pain Symptom Manage

Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Electronic address:

Published: April 2022

Background: The number of cancer patients potentially amenable to palliative care is conventionally estimated from cancer deaths, as reported in the death certificates. However, a more representative population should also include cancer patients who die from causes other than cancer, as they may develop other life-limiting chronic conditions leading to terminal prognosis.

Aim: This study aimed at refining the assessment of the number of cancer patients potentially in need of palliative care, by linked hospital and death data.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting/participants: Residents in the Emilia Romagna Region in Italy, who died between 2009 and 2017.

Results: We identified a potential palliative care population of 157,547 cancer patients. The use of different administrative data sources enhanced the sensitivity of our selection. Starting from a standard estimate of 129,212 patients based on cancer as the primary cause of death, we showed that the additional use of hospital records identified a further 11.4% of possible palliative care patients 14,687. Also considering cancer as secondary cause of death, the estimate further increased by 10.6% (13,648 new cases). Notably, the proportion of cancer patients selected by the additional data sources were characterized by more advanced age and higher prevalence of comorbidity.

Conclusion: Healthcare services addressing the issue of estimating palliative care needs of cancer patients at a population level should consider that relying on the death certificate alone may lead to underestimating these needs of about 22%.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.12.030DOI Listing

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