Can the use of patient-reported outcome measurements in patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, help to identify the areas of improvement needed in the provision of palliative care for them?

The severe symptom profile of pancreatic cancer (PC) can lead to a dramatic reduction in quality-of-life (QoL) and a distressing end to life. To prevent this, it is vital that palliative care interventions are guided to an individual patients’ specific needs. Therefore, the aims for this project were to use patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs) to identify the most prevalent needs in PC and whether these were appropriately addressed. This would allow for conclusions to be drawn about possible areas of improvement, that would improve QoL in patients with PC.

Retrospective Integrated Palliative Outcome Score (IPOS) data that was collected over 2 years by clinicians at Pilgrims Hospice in East Kent (PHEK), was used to provide both quantitative and qualitative data for patients’ suffering specifically from PC (n: 196). Further qualitative information was collected from a sub-sample of 50 patient notes, this helped to establish whether appropriate referrals were being made and if individual patient goals were met.

The most prevalent needs spanned across all domains making up each patients’ life. Physically, pain was identified as the most common symptom affecting patients, with fatigue being the most severe. Although most common, pain was shown to be effectively targeted as it showed improvement following palliative intervention. Also, there were initially high concerns around anxiety and the social issues surrounding an end-of-life diagnosis. The social aspects of PC showed improvement, unlike the psychological needs which mostly showed no significant change.

The results provide a helpful guide to both the domains of life that PC predominantly affect, as well as those that may need improvement. This research demonstrates the effective and comprehensive care that PHEK have provided for this patient group. However, the door remains open for introducing new ways of helping improve their psychological needs.