Palliative Care Integration in Pediatric Oncology Phase 1 Clinical Trials

Although cure rates continue to rise, one in five children with cancer still die from their disease, so new therapies are urgently needed. Most advances in childhood cancer treatments have originated through clinical trial research and new therapies must be tested in early phase clinical trials. Phase 1 clinical trials are designed to focus mainly on determining whether a drug is safe, and less on how well it cures a disease. These trials may offer patients and families hope when no other options are available to treat their cancer. However, patients in these trials may also experience treatment-related side effects and earlier death. Patients and families enrolled in phase 1 clinical trials often experience increased levels of distress. This distress may result from physical effects of the disease or treatments, or from worry, sadness, or confusion when making difficult decisions related to care or end-of-life.

Pediatric palliative care (PPC) is a field that aims to ease physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual suffering and may be beneficial to patients and families enrolling in phase 1 clinical trials. Over the past decade, PPC has been shown to improve quality of life, patient and family healthcare understanding and satisfaction, communication, shared-medical decision making, advanced care planning, and healthcare cost savings. Despite evidence showing the benefits of PPC, it is not used consistently in pediatric oncology care, particularly in the setting of early phase clinical trials. Including PPC experts is a proven way to improve access to specialty care for vulnerable populations. In this application, investigators propose a study to test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of including PPC consultation for pediatric cancer patients and their families during their enrollment in phase 1 clinical trials.