Impact of a combined integrative oncology and palliative care program on quality of life of patients with advanced cancer

Many oncology centers provide integrative oncology (IO) care, many within palliative care settings. The primary study objective was to examine the impact of IO-palliative patient-tailored program on quality of life (QoL) among patients with advanced cancer. In this pragmatic prospective controlled study, patients with advanced cancer undergoing chemotherapy/palliative care were referred by their oncology healthcare providers to an integrative physician (IP) consultation and weekly IO treatments. Patients with high adherence to integrative care (AIC; ≥ 4 IO sessions/6 weeks) were compared with moderate (2–3 sessions) or low AIC patients (regarded as control group). Outcomes were assessed at 6- and 12-week follow-up with Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and EORTC QLQ-C30 (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire) tools. Change in QoL scores (ESAS fatigue in particular) was considered a primary study outcome. Of 225 eligible patients, 153 underwent baseline and 6-week optimal assessment (high AIC, 100; moderate AIC, 22; low AIC, 31). High AIC patients reported greater improvement on ESAS scores for fatigue (vs. low–moderate AIC, P < 0.001), depression (vs. moderate AIC, P = 0.01) at 6 weeks, and sleep (P = 0.007) at 12 weeks. High AIC patients had significantly improved EORTC global health status/QoL at 6 weeks (vs. moderate–low AIC, P = 0.01), cognitive functioning (vs. moderate AIC, P = 0.043), and social functioning (vs. moderate AIC, P = 0.032). High AIC patients had lower rates of hospitalizations at 12 weeks (19% vs. 35% in low AIC, P = 0.02; 44% in moderate AIC, P = 0.003), hospitalization days (vs. low AIC, P = 0.003), and opioid use (vs. low AIC, P < 0.001). High adherence to integrative care was associated with a significant effect on fatigue, depression, global QoL at 6 weeks, and need for hospitalizations at 12 weeks.