{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T06:12:13Z","timestamp":1788415933312,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) experience substantial symptom burden, yet evidence on the integration of specialist palliative care (PC) in real-world settings remains limited. We assessed the impact of concurrent PC on patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To evaluate the impact of integrating professional palliative care (PC) with standard systemic therapy on patient-reported outcomes, medical resource utilization, and overall survival (OS) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This retrospective cohort study included 201 mCRC patients receiving systemic therapy (Jan 2023\u2013Jan 2025), of whom 69 received concurrent multidisciplinary PC (combined group) and 132 received standard care alone (non-combined group). We evaluated pain (NRS), clinically documented clinically documented emotional distress (diagnosis or medication use), treatment goal consistency, unplanned hospitalizations, emergency visits, end-of-life chemotherapy, and OS. The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee, which waived the requirement for informed consent due to the retrospective design. Statistical analyses used chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and Cox regression. Two-sided P&amp;lt;0.05 was significant.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>At baseline, the combined group was older (median age higher, P\u00a0=\u00a00.002), had a greater proportion with ECOG PS\u22652 (P\u00a0=\u00a00.008), and had a higher Charlson comorbidity index (P&amp;lt;0.001). Despite these disadvantages, they reported significantly greater pain reduction (P&amp;lt;0.001), lower clinically documented emotional distress rates (P\u00a0=\u00a00.007), and higher treatment goal consistency (P&amp;lt;0.001). Unplanned readmissions, emergency department visits, and chemotherapy within 30 days of death were all significantly lower (each P \u2264 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression confirmed that PC independently reduced the risk of clinically documented emotional distress (adjusted OR 0.42, P\u00a0=\u00a00.008) and increased goal consistency (OR 7.85, P&amp;lt;0.001). Overall survival did not differ between groups (median 19.1 vs 18.3 months; HR 0.92, P\u00a0=\u00a00.632).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Integrating professional PC into standard mCRC management significantly enhances symptom relief, treatment goal alignment, and reduces aggressive end-of-life interventions without affecting survival. These findings strongly support the routine incorporation of multidisciplinary PC as a core component of high-quality cancer care, improving patient-centered outcomes and promoting efficient resource utilization. Early PC integration aligns with guideline recommendations and holds promise for cost-effective cancer care delivery.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2026.1882581","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T05:13:32Z","timestamp":1788412412000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparison of patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization between metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving systemic therapy with or without concurrent palliative care support: a retrospective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Xiaoli","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]},{"name":"Department of Oncology, Hefei Third People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fangtuan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endoscopy Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lunlan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00772-9","article-title":"Fruquintinib versus placebo in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (FRESCO-2): an international, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, phase 3 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