Specialty Compared to Oncology Delivered Palliative Care for Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Status: active

This clinical trial compares primary palliative care to specialty palliative care in improving quality of life and the experience of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their caregivers. Frequently patients with AML experience physical and emotional symptoms during their treatment. These symptoms and worries can be distressing to both patients and their family and friends (also called “caregivers’). Research has shown that early involvement of a team of clinicians that specialize in lessening (or “palliating”) these physical and emotional symptoms and in helping patients and their caregivers cope with AML improves their quality of life and experience with their illness. This team is called “specialty palliative care” and consists of physicians and advanced practice nurses (or “nurse practitioners”) who work closely and collaboratively with the oncology team to care for patients and their caregivers. Research has also shown that training oncology clinicians to incorporate palliative care skills into their practice, called “primary palliative care”, is an alternative strategy to having specialty palliative care clinicians care for all patients with illnesses like leukemia. The goal of this study to determine whether specialty palliative care or primary palliative care is the best way to improve the quality of life and experience of patients with AML and their caregivers.

Inclusion Criteria

PATIENTS: Hospitalized patients (age >= 18 years) with high-risk AML defined as one of the following: * Patients with new diagnosis >= 60 years of age * An antecedent hematologic disorder * Therapy related-disease * Relapsed or primary refractory AML
PATIENTS: Within five business days of initiating therapy with either a) intensive chemotherapy (7+3) or modification of this regimen on a clinical trial, or a similar intensive regimen requiring prolonged hospitalization; or b) hypomethylating agents +/- additional agents or modification of this regimen on a clinical trial
CAREGIVERS: Adult (>= 18 years) relative or friend of a patient who agrees to participate in the study whom the patient identified as living with them or having in-person contact with them at least twice per week

Exclusion Criteria

PATIENTS: Patients with a diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia
PATIENTS: Patients with AML receiving supportive care alone
PATIENTS: Patients with psychiatric or cognitive conditions which the treating clinicians believes prohibits informed consent or compliance with study procedures
PATIENTS: Patients seen by a palliative care clinician (medical doctor [MD], doctor of osteopathic medicine [DO] or advanced practice provider [APP]) during two previous hospitalizations in the six months prior to enrollment
PATIENTS: Patients expected to be discharged within 2 days

Study sponsor and potential other locations can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov for NCT05237258.

State: