ArticleCurrent oncology (Toronto, Ont.)2022
Symptom Burden and Complexity in the Last 12 Months of Life among Cancer Patients Choosing Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Alberta, Canada.
Article in Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Tale of Two Conditions: 50 Years of Chronic Illness and Cancer From a Nursing Perspective.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- Choice and Death: Analysis of Medical Assistance in Dying for Head and Neck Cancer in Ontario.The Laryngoscope · 2026Article
- Communication Processes and Priorities in Medical Aid in Dying Conversations: A Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study of Multidisciplinary Cancer Clinicians.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Examining assisted suicide and euthanasia through the lens of healthcare quality.Irish journal of medical science · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn 2019, cancer patients comprised over 65% of all individuals who requested and received Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Canada. This descriptive study sought to understand the self-reported symptom burden and complexity of cancer patients in the 12 months prior to receiving MAID in Alberta.
methodsBetween July 2017 and January 2019, 337 cancer patients received MAID in Alberta. Patient characteristics were descriptively analyzed. As such, 193 patients (57.3%) completed at least one routine symptom-reporting questionnaire in their last year of life. Mixed effects models and generalized estimating equations were utilized to examine the trajectories of individual symptoms and overall symptom complexity within the cohort over this time.
resultsThe results revealed that all nine self-reported symptoms, and the overall symptom complexity of the cohort, increased as patients' MAID provision date approached, particularly in the last 3 months of life. While less than 20% of patients experienced high symptom complexity 12 months prior to MAID, this increased to 60% in the month of MAID provision.
conclusionsCancer patients in this cohort experienced increased symptom burden and complexity leading up to their death. These findings could serve as a flag to clinicians to closely monitor advanced cancer patients' symptoms, and provide appropriate support and interventions as needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.