Randomized Trial of Nurse Specialist-Led Early Palliative and Survivorship Care for Adults with Advanced Solid Tumor Cancer

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying an early intervention led by an oncology clinical nurse specialist that uses a multidisciplinary approach to palliative and survivorship care for adults with metastatic solid tumor malignancies. This randomized control trial aims to compare this nurse-led care model to the standard palliative care approach, focusing on patient-reported symptom burden, overall quality of life, distress, and overall survival. The study targets patients in favorable and very favorable risk groups to evaluate the impact on symptoms like pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, and wellbeing. Participants will be assigned randomly to either the nurse-specialist-led intervention or the standard care group. The intervention group receives usual care plus additional coordinated services, patient education, referrals, and ongoing support from the oncology nurse-specialist, including in-person visits and scheduled telephone follow-ups. The standard care group follows usual clinical guidelines with physician and nursing visits scheduled typically at 3, 9, 15, and 24 months. Both groups will complete surveys at multiple timepoints to assess symptoms and quality of life throughout the study period. During the 24-month study, participants will complete validated questionnaires to report symptoms, distress, and quality of life, supported by nursing staff. Data collection occurs at six timepoints using brief surveys that take about 5-6 minutes each. The research team will monitor safety regularly, tracking any adverse events. Survival data will be followed for up to 60 months. Participants can withdraw at any time without affecting their medical care. Total survey time is about 50 minutes for standard care and 85 minutes for the intervention group over 24 months.

Clinical Nurse Specialist Led Early Palliative Survivorship Care for Patients With Advanced Cancer