TY - JOUR
T1 - Palliative care in hepatocellular carcinoma
AU - Laube, Robyn
AU - Sabih, Abdul-Hamid
AU - Strasser, Simone I.
AU - Lim, Lynn
AU - Cigolini, Maria
AU - Liu, Ken
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common cancer with a poor prognosis, associated with high economic costs and a significant burden of disease. While it is often asymptomatic in the early stages, patients may experience great discomfort from advanced disease, treatment adverse effects, or decompensation of underlying cirrhosis. Palliative care has the potential to markedly improve quality of life, physical, and psychological symptoms in patients with end-stage liver disease, and has been shown to prolong survival in some nonhepatocellular carcinoma malignancies. However, this service is underutilized in hepatocellular carcinoma, and referrals are frequently late due to factors such as stigmatization, inadequate resources, lack of education for nonpalliative care physicians and inadequate modeling for integration of palliative and supportive care within liver disease services. In the future, education workshops, population-based awareness campaigns, increased funding and improved models of care, may improve the uptake of palliative care and subsequently optimize patient care, particularly towards the end of life.
AB - Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common cancer with a poor prognosis, associated with high economic costs and a significant burden of disease. While it is often asymptomatic in the early stages, patients may experience great discomfort from advanced disease, treatment adverse effects, or decompensation of underlying cirrhosis. Palliative care has the potential to markedly improve quality of life, physical, and psychological symptoms in patients with end-stage liver disease, and has been shown to prolong survival in some nonhepatocellular carcinoma malignancies. However, this service is underutilized in hepatocellular carcinoma, and referrals are frequently late due to factors such as stigmatization, inadequate resources, lack of education for nonpalliative care physicians and inadequate modeling for integration of palliative and supportive care within liver disease services. In the future, education workshops, population-based awareness campaigns, increased funding and improved models of care, may improve the uptake of palliative care and subsequently optimize patient care, particularly towards the end of life.
KW - cirrhosis
KW - end-stage liver disease
KW - hepatocellular carcinoma
KW - palliative care
KW - supportive care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087889988&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jgh.15169
DO - 10.1111/jgh.15169
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32627853
SN - 0815-9319
VL - 36
SP - 618
EP - 628
JO - Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
JF - Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
IS - 3
ER -