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. 2023 Jul 29;15(15):3860.
doi: 10.3390/cancers15153860.

Supportive Care: The "Keystone" of Modern Oncology Practice

Florian Scotté  1 , Amy Taylor  2   3 , Andrew Davies  2   3   4
Affiliations

Supportive Care: The "Keystone" of Modern Oncology Practice

Florian Scotté et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) defines supportive care as "the prevention and management of the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment. This includes management of physical and psychological symptoms and side effects across the continuum of the cancer journey from diagnosis through treatment to post-treatment care. Supportive care aims to improve the quality of rehabilitation, secondary cancer prevention, survivorship, and end-of-life care". This article will provide an overview of modern supportive care in cancer, discussing its definition, its relationship with palliative care, models of care, "core" service elements (multi-professional/multidisciplinary involvement), the evidence that supportive care improves morbidity, quality of life, and mortality in various groups of patients with cancer, and the health economic benefits of supportive care. The article will also discuss the current and future challenges to providing optimal supportive care to all oncology patients.

Keywords: cancer; multidisciplinary; supportive care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Scotté is the President-Elect of MASCC, and Davies is the Immediate Past President of MASCC.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The “extended” supportive care team [5]. “Other services” include (but are not confined to) psychology, social work, and pastoral care services. “Allied healthcare professionals” include (but are not confined to) physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, and radiographers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of service models: (a) services provide supportive care in isolation; (b) supportive care team provides services within an integrated care model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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