Integrated palliative care facilitates positive coping strategies in hospitalized patients with AML

Thomas W. LeBlanc, MD, MA, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, highlights that despite the evidence from current clinical trials, there is still a gap in the literature regarding how integrative specialist palliative care improves patient-recorded outcomes in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Previous investigations have shown that integrative palliative care significantly improved quality of life (QoL), depression, and anxiety in patients receiving intensive induction chemotherapy. To investigate the mechanisms underlying these benefits, a multi-site randomized trial (NCT02975869) comparing integrated palliative and oncology care to usual care was carried out for hospitalized patients with AML receiving induction therapy. Results from this study showed that facilitating positive coping styles was the major factor underlying how palliative care seems to improve specific patient outcomes. This interview was conducted at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 Virtual Meeting.