SynthesisBMJ supportive & palliative care2025
Palliative care utilisation globally by cancer patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Family members' experiences of palliative sedation -a systematic integrative review.BMC palliative care · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Access to specialist palliative care and health care service utilization during the final year of life among patients with kidney disease.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Article
- Timing of specialist palliative care and acute healthcare utilization at the end of life among adults who died of cancer: a nationwide cohort study.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Patient and Physician Perspectives on Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Non-Dialysis-Dependent CKD Care: A Qualitative Study.Kidney medicine · 2026Article
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on palliative care service utilization and its associated factors among adult cancer patients in Ethiopia.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Review
- Palliative Performance Scale Predicts Survival in Patients with Bone Metastasis Undergoing Radiotherapy.Cancers · 2025Article
- The impact of specialist palliative care on healthcare utilization among patients with breast cancer: a nationwide register-based cohort study.Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) · 2025Article
- The Impact of Advanced Care Planning on Hospice Utilization in Patients with Cancer: A Nationwide Analysis in Korea.Cancers · 2025Article
- Factors influencing withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments in patients with severe acquired brain injuries: a scoping review.Frontiers in neurologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe rising global prevalence of cancer reveals significant regional disparities in palliative care adoption. While some countries have incorporated palliative care into their systems, over half of the world lacks such services, and oncology-specific palliative care integration is sparse. This study evaluates the global prevalence of palliative care use among cancer patients.
methodsA comprehensive search across multiple databases was conducted to identify relevant studies. Data extraction and organisation were managed using Microsoft Excel, and analysis was performed with STATA/MP 17.0. A weighted inverse variance random-effects model was applied, and heterogeneity was assessed with Cochrane I² statistics. Subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses and Egger's test were used to explore heterogeneity, publication bias and influential studies.
resultsThe global prevalence of palliative care among cancer patients was 34.43% (95% CI: 26.60 to 42.25). Africa had the highest utilisation rate at 55.72% (95% CI: 35.45 to 75.99), while the USA had the lowest at 30.34% (95% CI: 19.83 to 40.86). Studies with sample sizes under 1000 showed a higher utilisation rate of 47.51% (95% CI: 36.69 to 58.32). Approximately 55% (95% CI: 35.26 to 74.80) of patients had a positive attitude towards palliative care, and 57.54% (95% CI: 46.09 to 69.00) were satisfied with the services. Positive attitudes were significantly associated with higher palliative care utilisation.
conclusionOnly about one-third of cancer patients globally receive palliative care, with the highest utilisation in Africa. Nearly half of patients have a favourable attitude towards palliative care, and a similar proportion are satisfied with the services.
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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.