Palliative Care and Characterization of Symptoms in Patients Undergoing Cytoreductive Surgery/Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

Introduction: Palliative care for advanced cancer patients has been associated with improvements in symptom management and quality of life (QoL). Patients with peritoneal metastases undergoing cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) often report symptoms adversely affecting QoL. We characterized and compared symptoms elucidated by palliative care versus surgical providers in this setting. Methods: CRS/HIPEC patients who saw both surgical oncology and palliative care providers from 2016 to 2020 at a tertiary care center were identified from a retrospective database. Documentation of QoL-associated symptoms in surgical oncology and palliative care visits was recorded and analyzed. Results: A total of 118 patients were included in this study. The most common primary histologies were appendiceal (36.4%) and colorectal (28.8%). Symptoms most frequently reported by palliative care were pain (60.2%) and fatigue (54.2%). The median number of symptoms documented was three (2, 5) in palliative care notes and two (0, 3) in surgical oncology notes (P < 0.001). Palliative care providers documented most symptoms statistically more frequently than surgical oncology providers. Conclusions: Patients who underwent CRS/HIPEC experienced various QoL-associated symptoms. Palliative care providers elicited more symptoms than surgical oncology providers. Additional studies are needed to explore the impact on outcomes of perioperative palliative care in this challenging patient population.