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Background/aim: Validated measures in palliative cancer patients are very important in the evaluation and management of the disease. The Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) has been used for many years to assess the performance status of cancer patients. The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the KPS in cancer patients receiving palliative care in Turkey., Materials and Methods: Eighty patients with a cancer diagnosis who were admitted to Gaziosmanpaşa University Medical Faculty Hospital Palliative Care Unit between 01.03.2016 and 01.03.2017 were included in the study. KPS, measurements from the Katz Activi-ties of Daily Living (ADL) scale, and Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL) scale were recorded. The alpha coefficient (Cronbach) was calculated by using SPSS version 20.0. The P-value was accepted as P < 0.05 in the analysis of the data., Results: There was a positive and strong correlation between Katz ADL scale total score and KPS score (r = 0.895; P < 0.001). In ad-dition, there was a strong negative correlation between the total score of BADL scale and KPS score (r = –0.894; P < 0.001). As for the reliability of the scale scores, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient found to be 0.720., Conclusion: KPS is a reliable scale for Turkish cancer patients in palliative care settings., (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)

Background/aim: We investigated the symptoms and needs of terminal cancer patients in a region where formal palliative care is limited. Here we present the demographic features and symptoms of end-stage cancer patients living in a city in northern Turkey., Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at Gaziosmanpaşa University (Tokat, Turkey), in 2011 and 2012. End-stage cancer patients admitted or referred by various departments to our outpatient pain unit were included. Demographic data, treatment histories, primary tumor sites, patient complaints, and symptom intensities measured using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System Scale were prospectively entered into a database., Results: A total of 107 patients (36 female and 71 male) were included. Gastrointestinal cancer was the most common form of cancer (43%), followed by genitourinary (25.3%) and lung cancer (15%). The most common symptom was fatigue (98.1%). The other symptoms (in decreasing order) were pain (92.5%), insomnia (92.5%), loss of appetite (76.6%), constipation (71%), dyspnea (63.6%), nausea (60.7%), cough (57.9%), and vomiting (48.6%). Eighty-six percent of the patients (n = 92) had metastases. Most lived in the city (59.8%) and 84 (78.5%) lived with their spouses., Conclusion: Patients were referred at the late stages of disease with pain as the principal presenting symptom. Family members were the principal caregivers.