Length of survival in hospice for cancer patients referred from a comprehensive cancer center.
This retrospective study examined 180 hospice patients referred from a comprehensive cancer center over 6 months in 2002 to (1) identify the variables associated with shorter length of survival (LOS) in hospice and (2) examine the LOS in hospice for those who previously participated in clinical trials and/or phase I studies. The median LOS in hospice for this cohort was 35 days. In multivariate analysis, low Palliative Performance Score (PPS) at hospice enrollment and male gender were associated with shorter LOS in hospice: males with low PPS had the shortest LOS while females with high PPS had the longest LOS. No correlation was found between the LOS in hospice and prior participation in clinical trials and/or phase I studies.
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Nova Scotia, Canada. tallal.younis@cdha.nshealth.ca
Tallal
T
Younis
Robert
R
Milch
Nawal
N
Abul-Khoudoud
David
D
Lawrence
Amy
A
Mirand
Ellis
E
Levine
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate