Mortality pattern of cancer patients followed in Palliative Care: a retrospective analysis.

Cohort studyRevista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992)· 2026

Mortality pattern of cancer patients followed in Palliative Care: a retrospective analysis.

Filipe Veiga, Cristina Teixeira Pinto

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OncologyCohort studyPrognosisQ3IF 1.1

Follow-up under 30 days in palliative care more than doubled odds of hospital death

Mortality pattern of cancer patients followed in Palliative Care: a retrospective analysis.

Filipe Veiga, Cristina Teixeira Pinto

Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2026 · Q3 in General Medicine

Purpose

The aim of this study was to identify the places of death of patients with solid cancer under follow-up by a Palliative Care team and to recognize factors that influence the place of death.

Methods

Retrospective study of cancer patients whose deaths occurred between January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2024, followed up by a Palliative Care team in a Portuguese public hospital.

Results

under 30 days of palliative follow-up more than doubled the odds of dying in hospital

OR by subgroup · 95% CI

More results

The sample included 413 cancer patients; 60.5% were male, and 72.9% were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 3-4.

Death in a hospital setting occurred in 64.4% of the patients.

The most common types of cancer were gastrointestinal/hepato-bilio-pancreatic (41.6%) and lung cancers (18.6%).

More results

Death due to cancer progression was associated with lower odds of hospital death (OR 0.03, 95%CI 0.004-0.21).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Death in a hospital setting was predominant in this sample, which is in line with outcomes from international studies.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings highlight the need for early palliative care referral and advance care planning to support patients' preferences for place of death.

Mortality pattern of cancer patients followed in Palliative Care: a retrospective analysis.

Mortality pattern of cancer patients followed in Palliative Care: a retrospective analysis.

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