Kontakt

German Version

Project leader: Prof. Dr. Claudia. Bausewein, Prof. Dr. Raymond Voltz, Prof. Dr. Steffen Simon
Contact: Prof. Dr. Steffen Simon, Dr. Anne Pralong
Duration: 05/2011- 12/2015; Part 2: 01/2016-06/2020
Funding institution: German Guideline Program in Oncology (GGPO)

In view of the high prevalence of cancer disease, the need for palliative care of patients with incurable malignancies is high. Alongside comprehensive oncological management, integration of palliative medicine into the care of these patients with a high burden of symptoms and complex needs plays a vital role in preservation of the best attainable quality of life right up to the time of death.

Furthermore, the quantity and quality of evidence in palliative medicine is constantly improving, with the result that to ensure universal first-class palliative care it has become necessary to formulate guidelines for all the healthcare professionals involved in the management of these patients. On these grounds, an evidence and consensus based “S3 Guideline on Palliative Care of Adult Patients With Incurable Cancer” has been developed since 2011 following the systematic standards of the AWMF for guideline developers. The guideline at hand serves as an aid for decision-making in practice and provides systematically developed treatment recommendations on the basis of the best possible evidence and clinical experience of a large number of experts.

The first part of the guideline was published in 2015 on seven aspects of palliative medicine: 1) breathlessness, 2) cancer pain, 3) constipation, 4) depression, 5) communication, 6) dying phase, and 7) palliative health care structures. Since 2016, these seven topics have been updated and eight new chapters have been developed: 1) Fatigue, 2) sleep disturbance, 3) nausea and vomiting (not induced by tumor therapies), 4) malignant bowel obstruction, 5) anxiety, 6) malignant wounds, 7) establishment of treatment goals and 8) wish to hasten death.