Few Young Adults Receive Palliative Care as Part of Advanced Cancer Treatment

TUESDAY, July 28, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Few young adults receive palliative care (PC) as part of treatment for stage 4 solid tumors or poor-prognosis high-grade brain tumors, according to a research letter published online July 23 in JAMA Network Open.

Kewei Sylvia Shi, M.P.H., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the National Cancer Database. A total of 67,706 patients newly diagnosed with first primary stage 4 solid tumors or poor-prognosis high-grade brain tumors ages 18 to 39 years were included (62,072 and 5,634 patients, respectively). Receipt of cancer-directed systemic therapy with and without PC during the first course of treatment was compared.

The researchers found that patients receiving concurrent PC were more likely to be ages 35 to 39 years, female, Medicaid-insured, and treated at community cancer programs compared with those receiving cancer-directed treatment alone. In all years, utilization of concurrent PC was low, but increased from 9.3 to 18.3 percent from 2010 to 2023. Overall, 2,715 patients (17.1 percent) received concurrent PC and cancer-directed systemic therapy during 2021 to 2023. Variation was seen by malignant neoplasm type; receipt of concurrent PC was highest for patients with lung, gastric, kidney, female breast, and pancreatic cancers (39.1, 32.6, 29.9, 28.2, and 27.6 percent, respectively). The lowest prevalence was seen for Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, poor-prognosis brain tumors, and head and neck cancers (1.9, 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4 percent, respectively).

“Palliative care can help address symptoms, support decision-making, and improve quality of life during treatment, yet many young adults are still not receiving these services,” Shi said in a statement.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text