More Brain Tumor Patients Were Sent to Palliative Care Over Seven Years
Original title: Temporal Trends in Palliative Care Integration for High-Grade Glioma: A Seven-Year Retrospective Cohort Study.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a look back at real patient records, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
At one hospital in Brazil, far more people with fast-growing brain tumors were referred to palliative care in 2023 than in 2017.
What was studied. Researchers looked back at records for 117 adults with high-grade glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary who had surgery between 2017 and 2023 at one hospital in Brazil. They tracked how often people were referred to palliative care, how soon, and how well they were doing at the time.
What they found. Palliative care referrals rose from 21.1% in 2017 to 73.7% in 2023. Referrals that led to an actual palliative care visit rose from 21.1% to 47.4%. People were also in better physical shape when they were referred. Older age and being in poorer shape before surgery were linked to dying sooner.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Palliative care is support to ease symptoms and stress. This study suggests one hospital got much better at offering it, and at offering it earlier. If you have a high-grade glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary, it is fair to ask your team about palliative care, and to ask early.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean palliative care made people live longer. In this study, being referred was not linked to longer survival once other things were accounted for. This is not a treatment and it is not a cure. It was also a look back at records at a single hospital, not a trial, so it cannot prove what caused what. What happens at your own hospital may be different.
Source: PubMed, July 29, 2026 · Read the original
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