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. 2025 Apr 21;24(1):110.
doi: 10.1186/s12904-025-01746-x.

Unmet supportive care needs in patients with advanced cancer and its impact on distress

Kayla W Miranda  1 , Benjamin L Musher  2 , Hoda J Badr  2   3
Affiliations

Unmet supportive care needs in patients with advanced cancer and its impact on distress

Kayla W Miranda et al. BMC Palliat Care. .

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with advanced cancer endure considerable physical and emotional distress without sufficient supportive care. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between cancer-related symptoms, supportive care needs, and distress levels in patients with advanced lung, head and neck, or gastrointestinal cancers.

Methods: 158 patients were assessed for symptom burden and distress levels using the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) and unmet needs using the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-34) within one month of treatment initiation. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to explore associations between supportive care needs and distress.

Results: Distress levels were moderate across the study population, with fatigue, pain, and disturbed sleep being the most reported symptoms. Patients who lived with their caregivers reported significantly lower needs in four out of five domains. Positive correlations were found between distress levels and supportive care needs in the psychological (r = 0.342, p < 0.001), health system (r = 0.253, p = 0.001), patient care and support (r = 0.237, p = 0.003), and physical and daily living domains (r = 0.378, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that these domains collectively explained a significant portion of the variance in distress levels (R2 = 0.169, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Independent of demographic or clinic characteristics, patients with advanced cancer experience moderate distress and unmet supportive care needs, particularly in psychological and health system domains. The association between living with caregivers and lower reported needs suggests that caregiver support may play a crucial role in meeting these needs. Therefore, integrating strategies that involve and support caregivers could potentially reduce distress and improve the quality of life for patients with advanced cancer.

Keywords: Advanced cancer; Caregiver; Distress; Supportive care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Baylor College of Medicine (H-39002) and conducted in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
MDASI core symptom severity by cancer type
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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