Period
03-2024 to 02-2025
Abstract project
A group of people with cancer who are "out of treatment" and for whom standard treatments are no longer available, are eligible for phase I experimental clinical trials. These studies test a new treatment for, among other things, dose and side effects. Participants in phase I studies rarely benefit themselves and will often die quickly. Multiple studies have already shown that palliative care improves quality of life and care for patients and loved ones. However, little is known about the need for and integration -or conflict- of palliative care in phase I studies, from both patient and caregiver perspectives. Therefore, we wish to understand the current practice, need, feasibility, and acceptability of integrating palliative care into phase I studies in patients with cancer. Specifically, we want to explore: 1) How quality of life issues for patients and families are incorporated into the care of people with cancer participating in phase I studies, 2) What the benefits of integrating palliative care into phase I studies are or could be and how this should be done, and 3) What barriers exist to such integration and what is needed to overcome these barriers. We will conduct semi-structured face-to-face interviews with patients, family caregivers, and physicians, using convenience and snowball sampling.
Funding
