Future aims for palliative care

The rediscovery of palliative care in oncology represents an important aspect in the clinical assistance of cancer patients with advanced or terminal disease. The main characteristic aspects of the renewed medical discipline are: the inclusion of palliative care within the comprehensive care of the oncologic patient (simultaneous care); the inclusion of the palliative care institutions (Hospices and Home Care Units) within the oncologic departments; the comprehensive approach towards the sick person and his family in a model of global care; the identification of quality of life as the main end point of a palliative approach. An adequate approach to the needs of the patient with advanced or terminal disease or to the needs of his family has to be based upon a correct assessment of the patient, and consequently of patient's prognosis. Moreover, clinical research should be based on rational principles and conducted with adequate and well-founded methodologies. Future aims for palliative care will be: the identification of foundation confirmed by basic or translational research, the conduction of trials that could validate the results of biological research in the clinical context, and the large application of the results of clinical research in clinical practice. Nevertheless, all the efforts to improve the quality of clinical research in palliative care will have to be focused on protocols of global interventions.