Dear Colleagues,

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for health services to be designed so that early palliative care is integrated into existing health services in a shared care model to provide appropriate support to those who need it.

Many randomised clinical trials have shown that early palliative care (EPC) in patients with advanced cancer improves symptom control, psychological distress, quality of life, and patient and family satisfaction. Some trials have also shown that EPC reduces the use of futile chemotherapy at the end of life and improves healthcare resource use and survival.

Based on consistent scientific evidence, many international scientific societies and expert commissions (American Society of Clinical Oncology, European Society of Medical Oncology, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and The Lancet Commission) recommend that patients with advanced cancer should be managed by multidisciplinary teams specialising in EPC, parallelly with their cancer treatment.

Referral to early palliative care teams and the intensity of shared care with oncology not only depend on the extent of patients' disease and prognosis, but also on the individual complexity of their care needs. A key component of improving the care of patients with advanced cancer is increasing our knowledge in this area. That is why we are seeking your opinion and contribution (through narrative or systematic reviews, original research, etc.).

The aim of this Special Issue is to review the integration of early palliative care in oncology. The main topics for the Special Issue may include, but are not limited to: the integration of palliative care in oncology; complexity of palliative care needs; organisational models of shared care between oncology and palliative care; cancer pain; symptom control; end of life in cancer patients; advanced care planning, etc.

Dr. Albert Tuca-Rodríguez
Guest Editor

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• early palliative care
• advanced cancer
• complexity of care needs
• integration of palliative care in oncology
• cancer pain
• symptom control
• end-of-life
• advance care planning