Brief Overview of Assessment and Prognostication Tools for Palliative Care Oncology Patients

Patients with life-threatening illnesses can be at risk for the progression of their disease over time. Consequences of such an illness can include recurrent hospitalizations, poor symptom control, and a lack of understanding by the patient and family of the disease, its usual course, and prognosis. Palliative care is a philosophy of care intended to address these issues. While receiving palliative care, patients can continue to undergo treatments directed at a cure, whereas hospice patients no longer receive treatment for underlying diseases. Both approaches focus on symptom control. To best care for palliative patients over time, several outcome domains should be routinely assessed to ensure the highest quality of life and well-being. While palliative care focuses on the whole patient, this article focuses on assessment tools for symptoms, functional status, pain, and prognostication