New research reinforces the telehealth delivery of palliative care as an effective alternative to in-person visits for patients with advanced lung cancer, providing comparable quality-of-life benefits. This research was presented by Joseph Greer, PhD, and colleagues at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA3).
Joseph Greer, PhD
About the Study
This randomized comparative effectiveness trial involved 1,250 patients recently diagnosed with advanced NSCLC. Patients had palliative care sessions every 4 weeks, conducted via video visits for those randomly assigned to the telehealth group and in-person for those randomly assigned to the traditional-care group. These sessions addressed physical and psychological symptoms, coping, illness understanding, care preferences, and treatment decisions.
The patients had a mean age of 65.5 years, 54.0% self-identified as women, and 66.7% were married or partnered. The racial and ethnic composition of the patient cohort was 10.4% African American or Black, 5.2% Asian, 82.7% White, and 4.8% Hispanic or Latino.
Key Findings
At week 24, patient quality-of-life scores were statistically equivalent between the telehealth and in-person groups (99.67 vs 97.67 on a 0- to 136-point scale). The rate of caregiver participation in the telehealth group was significantly lower compared to the in-person group (36.6% vs 49.7%). The two study groups did not differ significantly in patient-reported depression, anxiety, or coping skills.
“Telehealth has the potential to substantially reduce burden on patients, clinicians, and health care resources while maintaining quality care. Our findings highlight the critical need for health-care systems and policymakers to adopt telehealth more broadly into evidence-based palliative care standards,” said lead study author Dr. Greer, Co-Director of the Cancer Outcomes Research & Education Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Next Steps
Future research will assess whether specific patient subgroups benefit more from telehealth or in-person care, including evaluations based on age and proficiency with technology. Additionally, the impact of both care delivery methods on the quality of end-of-life care will be examined, particularly in patient-clinician communication about care preferences to further refine and optimize palliative care protocols.
ASCO Perspective
“In patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer, research shows that early palliative care improves patient outcomes, including survival. This large, randomized study demonstrated that telehealth delivery of palliative care is feasible, and results in outcomes comparable to in-person care. The findings underscore the considerable potential for improving access to and broader dissemination of palliative care to improve patient outcomes,” commented Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, the Leslye M. Heisler Associate Professor for Lung Cancer Excellence and Director of the Precision Oncology Innovation at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania.
Disclosure: This study was funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) under the Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research (PLACER), Grant/Award Number: PLC-1609-35995. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
