Palliative care in hematologic malignancies: a multidisciplinary approach.

Introduction: Palliative care is specialized health care focused on improving the quality of life amid serious illness. Patients with hematologic malignancies have significant needs that could be addressed by a multidisciplinary palliative care team, but the integration of palliative care into hematology is far behind that of solid tumor oncology.Areas covered: This article considers what is known about the palliative care needs of hematologic malignancy patients, shows how the multidisciplinary palliative care team could improve their care, and explores how barriers to this relationship might be overcome. The evidence to support this review comes from review of recent, relevant papers known to the authors as well as PubMed searches of additional relevant articles over the past 3 years.Expert opinion: Further cultivating this relationship requires us to thoughtfully integrate the multidisciplinary palliative care team to respond to each patient's specific disease and needs, and do so at the ideal time, to maximize benefits.

Duke Scholars

Author Thomas William LeBlanc Medicine, Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy