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Purpose To determine whether hospice use by patients with cancer is associated with their families' perceptions of patients' symptoms, goal attainment, and quality of end-of-life (EOL) care. Methods We interviewed 2,307 families of deceased patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer who were enrolled in the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance study (a multiregional, prospective, observational study) and died by 2011. We used propensity-score matching to compare family-reported outcomes for patients who did and did not receive hospice care, including the presence and relief of common symptoms (ie, pain, dyspnea), concordance with patients' wishes for EOL care and place of death, and quality of EOL care. We also examined associations between hospice length of stay and these outcomes among hospice enrollees. Results In a propensity-score-matched sample of 1,970 individuals, families of patients enrolled in hospice reported more pain in their patient compared with those not enrolled in hospice. However, families of patients enrolled in hospice more often reported that patients received "just the right amount" of pain medicine (80% v 73%; adjusted difference, 7 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1 to 12 percentage points) and help with dyspnea (78% v 70%; adjusted difference, 8 percentage points; 95% CI, 2 to 13 percentage points). Families of patients enrolled in hospice also more often reported that patients' EOL wishes were followed (80% v 74%; adjusted difference, 6 percentage points; 95% CI, 2 to 11 percentage points) and "excellent" quality EOL care (57% v 42%; adjusted difference, 15 percentage points; 95% CI, 11 to 20). Families of patients who received > 30 days of hospice care reported the highest quality EOL outcomes. Conclusion Hospice care is associated with better symptom relief, patient-goal attainment, and quality of EOL care. Encouraging earlier and increased hospice enrollment may improve EOL experiences for patients with cancer and their families.

Characterizations of average end-of-life care for people with cancer can obscure important differences in patients' experiences. Using Medicare claims data for 14,257 patients diagnosed with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer in the period 1995-2009, we used latent class analysis to identify classes of people with different care patterns. We characterized care trajectories from diagnosis to death using time spent in five care settings--home, hospital inpatient unit (acute), hospital intensive care unit (ICU), postacute skilled nursing facility, and hospice--and transitions across these settings. We identified four classes of patients: 66 percent spent the time primarily at home, 11 percent were primarily in hospice, 17 percent were largely in an acute setting, and 6 percent were largely in an ICU. Patients in these classes differed significantly in terms of baseline clinical characteristics, survival length, time spent in hospice, site of death, and spending. The findings show substantial heterogeneity in patterns of care for patients with advanced cancer, which should be accounted for in efforts to improve end-of-life care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]