Join the study! Researchers have developed POISE, a short program combining palliative and survivorship care for patients with advanced lung cancer.
POISE (Patient-centered, Optimal Integration of Survivorship and Palliative Care) study at Massachusetts General Hospital for patients with advanced lung cancer receiving targeted therapy including RET cancer patients.
New targeted treatments have helped people with advanced lung cancer live longer and have fewer symptoms, but patients still face a long and unpredictable illness, often with needs for support that aren’t fully met. Many struggle with worries about the future, unclear information about their prognosis, and misunderstandings about whether their cancer can be cured. While early palliative care can help patients feel better, cope with their illness, and communicate with their doctors, past studies were done before modern targeted therapies, so it’s unclear how best to support patients who may live longer with advanced cancer. Survivorship care, which usually focuses on people who have finished early-stage cancer treatment, can also help by supporting long-term health, lifestyle changes, and emotional well-being. To meet these needs, researchers developed POISE (Patient-centred, Optimal Integration of Survivorship and palliative carE), a short program combining palliative and survivorship care for patients with advanced lung cancer receiving targeted therapy for tumors harboring EGFR, ALK, ROS1 or RET mutations. POISE is designed to help patients manage emotions, understand their illness, communicate with their care team, and take care of their long-term health. This study describes whether POISE is practical, helpful, and acceptable to patients compared with usual care.
POISE includes four sessions (60 minutes) with a trained palliative care clinician, either in person or by video, to help patients cope with their illness, understand their prognosis, set goals, and manage their long-term health. Participants will also complete short surveys about their feelings, quality of life, and health management. Half of the participants will receive POISE, and the other half will receive usual care from their oncology team. The study aims to see if POISE is helpful, easy to use, and acceptable to patients, and the results will help doctors improve supportive care for people living with advanced lung cancer.
Current trial status
Recruitment and enrolment for the RCT began on 21 November 2024. Any changes to the status of the trial will be updated on ClinicalTrials.gov (trial registration number: NCT04900935).
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