Effect Of Early Integrated Palliative Care On Family Caregivers (Fc) Outcomes For Patients With Gastrointestinal And Lung Cancer.

234 Background: Patients with newly diagnosed advanced cancers who receive early palliative care (PC) integrated with oncology care report improvement in their quality of life (QOL) and mood. While a telephone-based psycho-educational intervention for FC decrease depression, the impact of early, integrated outpatient PC models on FC outcomes remains unknown. Methods: We conducted a randomized trial of early PC integrated with oncology care versus oncology care alone for newly diagnosed patients with incurable lung and gastrointestinal cancers and their FC. Eligible FC were relatives or friends who would likely accompany the patient to clinic visits. FC were eligible to enroll up to 4 weeks after patient enrollment. The intervention entailed at least monthly patient visits with PC from the time of enrollment. FC were not required to attend these visits. We used the Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey Short Form-36 to examine QOL and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to examine mood at baseline, we...