title: Palliative radiotherapy with or without additional care by a multidisciplinary palliative care team in patients with newly diagnosed cancer: a retrospective matched pairs comparison.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze survival after early palliative radiotherapy (RT) in patients managed exclusively by regular oncology staff or a multidisciplinary palliative care team (MPCT) in addition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective matched pairs analysis. Comparison of two groups of 29 patients each: MPCT versus none. Early RT started within three months after cancer diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bone and brain metastases were common RT targets. No significant differences in baseline characteristics were observed between both groups. Twelve patients in each group had non-small cell lung cancer. Median performance status was 2 in each group. Twenty-seven patients in each group had distant metastases. Median survival was not significantly different. In multivariate analysis, MPCT care was not associated with survival, while performance status and liver metastases were. Rate of radiotherapy during the last month of life was comparable. Only one patient in each group failed to complete radiotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MPCT care was not associated with survival in these two matched groups of patients. The impact of MPCT care on other relevant endpoints such as symptom control, side effects and quality of life should be investigated prospectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, 8092, Norway. carsten.nieder@nlsh.no.|Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, 9037, Norway. carsten.nieder@nlsh.no.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nieder
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, 8092, Norway. astrid.dalhaug@nlsh.no.|Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, 9037, Norway. astrid.dalhaug@nlsh.no.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalhaug
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, 8092, Norway. adam.pawinski@nlsh.no.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pawinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, 8092, Norway. ellinor.haukland@nlsh.no.
authors.forename: Ellinor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haukland
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, 8092, Norway. radiotherapy@gmx.net.
authors.forename: Bård
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mannsåker
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, 8092, Norway. cnied@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Engljähringer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate