Impact of dementia on quality of death among cancer patients: An observational study of home palliative care users

End of life care for people with dementia and comorbid cancer: recent studies and research gaps

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This narrative review examines recent research on end of life (EOL) care for people with dementia and comorbid cancer, highlighting the complexity and challenge of providing effective EOL care for this group and areas of interest for future research.

RECENT FINDINGS

People with cancer and dementia and their family/supporters have more complex care and support needs at EOL that are less well met than those of older adults with cancer alone, including questionable use of aggressive EOL care interventions, poorer access to specialist palliative care teams and poor pain management. Those diagnosed with dementia at the same time as, or after their cancer diagnosis, are at greater risk of aggressive EOL care and EOL cancer treatment and care plans that are not able to meet their care needs as dementia progresses.

SUMMARY

There is a lack of research on EOL care for people with cancer and dementia. There is little understanding of what good care for this population looks like and if and how EOL care can best meet the needs of people with cancer and dementia or their carers/supporters. More research is needed to inform improved care for this population.

Factors Related to Person-Centered Care for Older Patients With Cancer and Dementia in Designated Cancer Hospitals

BACKGROUND

Person-centered care (PCC) should be promoted for patients with cancer and dementia who are likely to be hindered from pursuing a meaningful life owing to their will not being reflected in the cancer treatment process.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to clarify the factors related to nurses' practice of PCC for older patients with cancer and dementia in designated cancer hospitals.

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey was administered to nurses working at designated cancer hospitals in Japan. The survey items included demographic data and factors assumed to be related to nursing practice and practice of PCC.

RESULTS

A multiple regression analysis indicated that the factors related to the practice of PCC were attitude toward patients with dementia (β = 0.264, P < .001), holding conferences (β = 0.255, P < .001), knowledge about cancer nursing (β = 0.168, P < .001), knowledge about dementia (β = 0.128, P = .003), and participation in dementia care training (β = 0.088, P = .032).

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses' practice of PCC may not be sufficient to provide personalized care tailored to patients' cognitive function. The factors related to PCC are attitude toward patients with dementia, holding conferences, knowledge about cancer and dementia, and dementia care training.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

To promote PCC for patients with cancer and dementia, nurses should learn about these conditions with an interest in patients and collaborate with other professionals. Future studies should use cluster sampling and focus on the extent of cancer or dementia symptoms.

End-of-Life Care in the Last Three Months before Death in Older Patients with Cancer in Belgium: A Large Retrospective Cohort Study Using Data Linkage

This study aims to describe end-of-life (EOL) care in older patients with cancer and investigate the association between geriatric assessment (GA) results and specialized palliative care (SPC) use. Older patients with a new cancer diagnosis (2009-2015) originally included in a previous multicentric study were selected if they died before the end of follow-up (2019). At the time of cancer diagnosis, patients underwent geriatric screening with Geriatric 8 (G8) followed by GA in case of a G8 score ≤14/17. These data were linked to the cancer registry and healthcare reimbursement data for follow-up. EOL care was assessed in the last three months before death, and associations were analyzed using logistic regression. A total of 3546 deceased older patients with cancer with a median age of 79 years at diagnosis were included. Breast, colon, and lung cancer were the most common diagnoses. In the last three months of life, 76.3% were hospitalized, 49.1% had an emergency department visit, and 43.5% received SPC. In total, 55.0% died in the hospital (38.5% in a non-palliative care unit and 16.4% in a palliative care unit). In multivariable analyses, functional and cognitive impairment at cancer diagnosis was associated with less SPC. Further research on optimizing EOL healthcare utilization and broadening access to SPC is needed.

One-year Medicare costs associated with delirium in older hospitalized patients with and without Alzheimer's disease dementia and related disorders

INTRODUCTION

One-year health-care costs associated with delirium in older hospitalized patients with and without Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) have not been examined previously.

METHODS

Medicare costs were determined prospectively at discharge, and at 30, 90, and 365 days in a cohort (n = 311) of older adults after hospital admission.

RESULTS

Seventy-six (24%) patients had ADRD and were more likely to develop delirium (51% vs. 24%, P < 0.001) and die within 1 year (38% vs. 21%, P = 0.002). In ADRD patients with versus without delirium, adjusted mean difference in costs associated with delirium were $34,828; most of the excess costs were incurred between 90 and 365 days (P = 0.03). In non-ADRD patients, delirium was associated with increased costs at all timepoints. Excess costs associated with delirium in ADRD patients increased progressively over 1 year, whereas in non-ADRD patients the increase was consistent across time periods.

DISCUSSION

Our findings highlight the complexity of health-care costs for ADRD patients who develop delirium, a potentially preventable source of expenditures.

HIGHLIGHTS

Novel examination of health-care costs of delirium in persons with and without Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Increased 1-year costs of $34,828 in ADRD patients with delirium (vs. without). Increased costs for delirium in ADRD occur later during the 365-day study period. For ADRD patients, cost differences between those with and without delirium increased over 1 year. For non-ADRD patients, the parallel cost differences were consistent over time.

Prevalence and health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults with comorbid cancer and dementia: a longitudinal analysis

OBJECTIVES

To examine health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults with: dementia only, cancer only, and comorbid cancer and dementia.

METHODS

Longitudinal analysis was conducted using data from 2010 to 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Health outcomes included mortality, limitations in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), nursing home utilization, hospital stay, homecare use, self-rated health, and out-of-pocket medical expenditure. Panel regression was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of comorbid cancer and dementia ranged from 2.56% to 2.97%. Individuals with comorbid cancer and dementia demonstrated a higher likelihood of nursing home utilization and poorer self-rated health but a lower likelihood of hospital stay, homecare use, and out-of-pocket expenditures, compared to the cancer only or dementia only groups. The differences in mortality and ADL and IADL limitations were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Comorbid cancer and dementia predicted longer nursing home utilization and poorer self-rated health. The results help guide care planning for individuals with comorbid cancer and dementia.

Cancer care for people with dementia: Literature overview and recommendations for practice and research

As many countries experience population aging, patients with cancer are becoming older and have more preexisting comorbidities, which include prevalent, age-related, chronic conditions such as dementia. People living with dementia (PLWD) are vulnerable to health disparities, and dementia has high potential to complicate and adversely affect care and outcomes across the cancer trajectory. This report offers an overview of dementia and its prevalence among patients with cancer and a summary of the research literature examining cancer care for PLWD. The reviewed research indicates that PLWD are more likely to have cancer diagnosed at an advanced stage, receive no or less extensive cancer treatment, and have poorer survival after a cancer diagnosis. These cancer disparities do not necessarily signify inappropriately later diagnosis or lower treatment of people with dementia as a group, and they are arguably less feasible and appropriate targets for care optimization. The reviewed research indicates that PLWD also have an increased risk of cancer-related emergency presentations, lower quality processes of cancer-related decision making, accessibility-related barriers to cancer investigations and treatment, higher experienced treatment burden and higher caregiver burden for families, and undertreated cancer-related pain. The authors propose that optimal cancer care for PLWD should focus on proactively minimizing these risk areas and thus must be highly person-centered, with holistic decision making, individualized reasonable adjustments to practice, and strong inclusion and support of family carers. Comprehensive recommendations are made for clinical practice and future research to help clinicians and providers deliver best and equitable cancer care for PLWD and their families.

A comparison of end-of-life care patterns between older patients with both cancer and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias versus those with only cancer

INTRODUCTION

Aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care that is not aligned with the preferences of persons with cancer has negative impacts on their quality of life. Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) could potentially complicate EOL care planning among persons with cancer. Little is known about the aggressive EOL care patterns among Medicare beneficiaries with both cancer and ADRD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A matched retrospective cohort was created using the 2004 to 2016 Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results-Medicare (SEER-Medicare) data differentiated by beneficiaries' ADRD status. Beneficiaries with breast, lung, colorectal, or prostate cancer who died between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2016, were included. Six existing domains of aggressive EOL care and one overall indicator were derived. The major predictor was having ADRD comorbidity; other covariates included sex, marital status, census tract poverty indicator, race/ethnicity, metro status, geographic location, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), survival time, cancer site, and histology stage. Multivariable logistic regression models were deployed to estimate the odds of receiving aggressive EOL care.

RESULTS

The study sample was 135,380 people after the one-to-one propensity score matching. The prevalence of aggressive EOL care utilization was slightly lower in beneficiaries with both cancer and ADRD when compared to beneficiaries with cancer only (54% vs. 58%, p < 0.0001). Beneficiaries with both cancer and ADRD were less likely to receive aggressive EOL care (AOR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.90) versus beneficiaries with cancer only. From the multivariable logistic regression model, certain beneficiaries' characteristics were associated with higher odds of receiving aggressive EOL care, such as: beneficiaries belonging to a racial/ethnic minority, a shorter survival time, and a higher CCI score.

DISCUSSION

The combined presence of ADRD and cancer was associated with lower odds of receiving aggressive EOL care compared to the presence of only cancer; however, the prevalence difference between the cohorts was not huge. Future studies could conduct in-depth evaluations of the ADRD's influence on the EOL care utilization.

The Impact of Dementia on Cancer Treatment Decision-Making, Cancer Treatment, and Mortality: A Mixed Studies Review

Dementia and cancer occur commonly in older adults. Yet, little is known about the effect of dementia on cancer treatment and outcomes in patients diagnosed with cancer, and no guidelines exist. We performed a mixed studies review to assess the current knowledge and gaps on the impact of dementia on cancer treatment decision-making, cancer treatment, and mortality. A search in PubMed, Medline, and PsycINFO identified 55 studies on older adults with a dementia diagnosis before a cancer diagnosis and/or comorbid cancer and dementia published in English from January 2004 to February 2020. We described variability using range in quantitative estimates, ie, odds ratios (ORs), hazard ratios (HRs), and risk ratios (RR) when appropriate and performed narrative review of qualitative data. Patients with dementia were more likely to receive no curative treatment (including hospice or palliative care) (OR, HR, and RR range = 0.40-4.4, n = 8), while less likely to receive chemotherapy (OR and HR range = 0.11-0.68, n = 8), radiation (OR range = 0.24-0.56, n = 2), and surgery (OR range = 0.30-1.3, n = 4). Older adults with cancer and dementia had higher mortality than those with cancer alone (HR and OR range = 0.92-5.8, n = 33). Summarized findings from qualitative studies consistently revealed that clinicians, caregivers, and patients tended to prefer less aggressive care and gave higher priority to quality of life over life expectancy for those with dementia. Current practices in treatment-decision making for patients with both cancer and dementia are inconsistent. There is an urgent need for treatment guidelines for this growing patient population that considers patient and caregiver perspectives.

Evaluation of a training program for community-based end-of-life care of older people toward aging in place: A mixed methods study

AIMS

To evaluate a training program that supports community-based service staff in implementing aging-in-place and end-of-life care programs.

BACKGROUND

Globally, as the population ages, the need for end-of-life care has never been greater. Since Japan is facing the issues of a super-aged population sooner than most countries, there is a particularly urgent need to enhance end-of-life care for older people. Most Japan's older people wish to spend their final days at home, however, only 11-13% end their lives at home, while 73% die in hospitals. As part of care system, small-scale community-based service for aging-in-place established across Japan in 2006 managed locally. These are flexible services using home or facility care or both for the individual to live long term at their preferred place. We developed the end-of-life care educational training program to encourage behavioral changes in community-based service staff of various readiness levels.

DESIGN

Mixed methods study design.

METHODS

A pre-post evaluation of knowledge, confidence and attitude toward end-of-life care, combining quantitative and qualitative data from 53 community-based service staff members who participated in the training program from September 2017 to September 2019. Participants were informed of the end-of-life care process using focus group discussions about end-of-life care and completed surveys evaluating the program before, immediately following and three months after the training. We used the four-level Kirkpatrick model as the evaluation indicator.

RESULTS

Quantitative analysis results indicated that participants were satisfied with the training program. Their knowledge scores regarding end-of-life care significantly improved; they also experienced confidence gains and changes in attitudes, becoming more approving of end-of-life care. Qualitative data revealed details of participants' satisfaction and what was learned. Through the focus group discussions, they created action plans for implementing end-of-life care programs, which some had accomplished in their local centers by the three-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that the training program is effective for promoting end-of-life care through community-based services in Japan. Conducting follow-up training could effectively strengthen participants' commitment to end-of-life care at community-based services. Use of the training program is expected to promote services to support aging-in-place.

An Overview of Treating People with Comorbid Dementia: Implications for Cancer Care

With increasing prevalence of both cancer and dementia in the UK, due to an ageing population, oncology healthcare professionals will experience higher numbers of people with both conditions. As dementia is highly heterogeneous and symptoms vary from individual to individual, it presents specific challenges for healthcare professionals, people with dementia and caregivers alike. This overview will describe current theories that explain the association between cancer and dementia, report prevalence rates and highlight the evidence on the impact of having a diagnosis of dementia on outcomes along the cancer pathway from cancer symptom detection to cancer treatment outcomes. It suggests that although prevalence rates of cancer and dementia are typically lower than other comorbidities, people with cancer and dementia have poorer cancer-related outcomes. This includes later stage cancer diagnoses, fewer cancer treatment options and an increased risk of death compared with people who have cancer alone or other comorbid conditions. Considerations for cancer treatment decision making and management are proposed to improve patient experience for this group.