Living well with advanced cancer: a scoping review of non-pharmacological supportive care interventions

Brinda Kumar; Moe Thet Htaa; Kim Kerin-Ayres; Andrea L Smith; Judith Lacey; Sarah Bishop Browne; Suzanne Grant

doi:10.1007/s11764-024-01714-z

Living well with advanced cancer: a scoping review of non-pharmacological supportive care interventions

J Cancer Surviv. 2024 Dec 16. doi: 10.1007/s11764-024-01714-z. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Brinda Kumar¹, Moe Thet Htaa¹, Kim Kerin-Ayres², Andrea L Smith³, Judith Lacey^{1

2

4}, Sarah Bishop Browne^{1

2}, Suzanne Grant^{2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia.
² Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ The Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney, a joint venture with Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia. andrea.smith@sydney.edu.au.
⁴ NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 39680303
DOI: 10.1007/s11764-024-01714-z

Abstract

Purpose: The increasing number of people living longer with advanced cancer presents unique physical, psychosocial, financial, legal, practical and complex care needs. Supportive care interventions aim to address these needs by improving symptom management, promoting wellbeing, enhancing quality of life and potentially improving prognosis. To integrate supportive care interventions into clinical practice, a comprehensive review of existing studies is needed. This scoping review maps the evidence on non-pharmacological supportive care interventions for people with advanced cancer and identifies gaps to inform future research.

Methods: We systematically searched four electronic databases-CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane and PsycINFO-for peer-reviewed original research on non-pharmacological supportive care interventions for adults with advanced cancer, published from January 1, 2013, to July 1, 2024.

Results: Out of 3716 studies, 84 publications met the inclusion criteria. These studies were categorised into key supportive care domains: physical activity, psychosocial support, patient care and autonomy, multimodal approaches and others. Most publications focused on interventions addressing physical and psychosocial needs, showing benefits such as reduced fatigue, pain and improved mood. However, significant gaps were found in research on interventions addressing practical needs essential to autonomy, including health system and information needs, patient care and support and financial needs.

Conclusion: Mapping the studies to the needs of the advanced cancer population showed that domains with greatest unmet needs have the fewest interventions available. Our scoping review suggests that non-pharmacological supportive care interventions can improve the wellbeing and quality of life of people living with advanced cancer. However, addressing methodological limitations requires further large-scale, multi-centre studies focusing on the identified gaps to inform the implementation of suitable supportive care programs.

Implications for cancer survivors: Non-pharmacological interventions can boost wellbeing and quality of life for advanced cancer survivors, but addressing gaps in practical and systemic support is crucial.

Keywords: Advanced cancer; Cancer survivorship; Metastatic cancer; Supportive care.