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Background Pain is a common symptom among patients with cancer, yet pain prevalence and management in older cancer pts. are poorly known. Methods Patients aged ≥70 years referred to Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS from January 2011 to December 2013 were evaluated with Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). Pain was assessed by means of short form of McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ-sf), Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-sf), and numerical rating scale (NRS). Pts with completed CGA, no severe cognitive impairment and completed pain assessment were enrolled. Results Enrolled patients were 745; 51% male, median age 76 years, median ECOG Performance Status (PS) 1. Frail patients at CGA were 45.2%. Patients with pain were 266 (35.7%). Mean Average Pain Intensity (API) was significantly higher among females, patients fit at CGA, with advanced disease, poorer PS and more comorbidity. Pain was detected by the oncologist in 20.4% of cases and deemed cancer-related in 54.8%. Gender, PS, status of disease, stage, function disability, mood, cognitive functioning and frailty were significantly associated with reporting of pain. At BPI, moderate-severe pain was found in 81 patients. The degree of agreement between API and pain intensity evaluated by physician was minimal. Patients on pain medications were 184, with 113 patients reporting rates of pain relief ≥50%. Conclusion About one third of older patients with cancer report pain, which is not cancer-related in about half of cases. Female gender, fitness at CGA, advanced stage, poorer PS, higher number of comorbidities and primary site were associated with significant differences in pain reporting.

The publisher regrets that the collaborators for this paper were not listed as such within the author details of the published paper. The collaborators were published in the Acknowledgements and are as follows: Alberto Farolfi, Silvia Ruscelli, Martina Valgiusti, Sara Pini, Marina Faedi, Department of Medical Oncology, IRST IRCCS, Meldola; Angela Ragazzini, Unit of Biostatistics and Clinical Trials, IRST IRCCS, Meldola; Cristina Pittureri and Elena Amaducci, Palliative Care and Hospice Unit, AUSL Romagna, Cesena; Irene Guglieri, Psychooncology Service, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV – IRCCS, Padua; Francesca Bergamo, Sara Lonardi, Department of Clinical and Experimental Oncology, Medical Oncology 1, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV – IRCCS, Padua; Camilla Di Nunzio, Medical Oncology Unit, Oncology–Hematology Department, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, Piacenza; Monica Bosco, Palliative Care Unit, Oncology–Hematology Department, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, Piacenza; Barbara Bocci, Medical Oncology Unit, San Paolo Hospital, Milan; Alfina Bramanti and Chiara Gandini, Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; Angela Buonadonna, Medical Oncology Unit, Aviano National Cancer Institute, Aviano; Alessandro Comandone, Medical Oncology Unit, Presidio Humanitas Gradenigo, Turin; Sonia Zoccali, Coordinamento Cure Palliative (supported by F.I.L.E., Leniterapia Italian Foundatio), Florence; Maria Simona Pino, Medical Oncology Unit, Oncology Department, S. Maria Annunziata Hospital, Florence; Davide Dalu, Palliative Care Unit, Oncology Department, L. Sacco Hospital, Milan; Pietro Sozzi, Oncology Unit, Ospedale degli Infermi, Ponderano; Alberto Gozza, Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, E.O. Galliera Hospitals, Genoa; Monica Giordano and Carla Longhi, Oncology Unit, Sant'Anna Hospital, Como; Cristina Autelitano, Palliative Care Unit, Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova – IRCCS, Reggio Emilia; Teresa Gamucci, Oncology Unit, SS Trinità Hospital Sora, ASL Frosinone, Frosinone; Cataldo Mastromauro, Oncology Unit, ULSS 12 Veneziana, Venice; Rodolfo Scognamiglio, Hospice Nazareth, Mestre; Daniela Degiovanni, Palliative Care Unit, Casale Monferrato, ASL Alessandria; Federica Negri, Medical Oncology Unit, Istituti Ospitalieri, Cremona; Augusto Caraceni, Palliative Care, Pain Therapy and Rehabilitation Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan; and Luigi Montanari, Palliative Care Unit Ravenna, AUSL Romagna, Italy. The publisher would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

BACKGROUNDEmotional factors may influence reception of information provided during informed consent leading to incomplete understanding and reduced satisfaction.OBJECTIVEThis study was designed to test the hypothesis that a multidisciplinary approach could improve understanding of the information pr

Aim Early palliative care (EPC) in oncology has shown sparse evidence of a positive impact on patient outcomes, quality of care outcomesand costs. Patients and methods Data for this secondary analysis were taken from a trial of 207 outpatients with metastatic pancreatic cancer randomly assigned to receive standard cancer care plus on-demand EPC (standard arm) or standard cancer care plus systematic EPC (interventional arm). After 20 months’ follow-up, 149 (80%) had died. Outcome measures were frequency, type and timing of chemotherapy administration, use of resources, place of death and overall survival. Results Some indices of end-of-life (EoL) aggressiveness had a favourable impact from systematic EPC. Interventional arm patients showed higher use of hospice services: a significantly longer median and mean period of hospice care (P=0.025 for both indexes) and a significantly higher median and mean number of hospice admissions (both P&nbsp

169 Background: Early palliative care has been shown to improve outcomes in pts with advanced cancer. In accordance with ASCO and AIOM recommendations of implementing palliative care early for pts with metastatic cancer along with active cancer treatment a SCC was set up at Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IOV) in Padova since 2014; Methods: Data of pts referred to the SCC from Mar 2014 to Nov 2016 were retrieved from a prospectively maintained database. Data collected included cancer type, status of disease, PS, ongoing oncological treatment, psychological evaluation, social evaluation, nutritional evaluation, activation of home territorial services and/or Palliative Care services, use of other health services after a first visit and place of death; Results: 533 pts were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team. Overall symptom burden was low with baseline symptom scores highest for fatigue, lack of appetite and depression. Nutritional evaluation revealed 224 pts (42%) with nutritional problems, the most frequent being weight loss (n = 121). Psychological distress was present in 185 pts (35%). Social issues were present in 26 pts (5%) and were dealt with activation of social services (n = 9) or volunteer territorial services (n = 8). Patients deemed in need of home care services after the first access to the SCC were 177 (33%) and for these a formal request for Home Care services activation was sent to the Local Health Territorial Unit. After the first visit 141 patients referred to Emergency Room for intervening problems with median time of 41 days. Globally 290 pts (54%) died with 53% of deaths occurring at home. For pts who were receiving active oncological treatment median time from first-visit in the SCC and death was 126 days. We are also evaluating a score for priority for access to SCC; Conclusions: Early integrated SC may be most effective if targeted to the specific needs of each patient population

150 Background: WHO defines palliative care as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients (pts) and their families facing problems associated with life threatening illnesses. This occurs by means of early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other problems physical, psychosocial, and spiritual. Recently, palliative care has been incorporated into the treatment of oncology pts earlier in the course of their disease. We aimed to explore this approach at our institution. Methods: We established an interdisciplinary clinic at IOV with the goal of promoting pts’ comprehensive support by integrating palliative care into active oncology treatments. Our primary objectives were to: optimize the quality of life of pts at every stage of their disease, ensure continuity of care through proper coordination of available services and avoid a sense of abandonment at the end of life. Pts included were those with advanced disease who had a life expectancy of less than one year, pts who had symptomatic disease regardless of prognosis, and pts who were considered frail, because of clinical, social, psychological, spiritual, logistical, and economical criteria. The multidisciplinary team consisted of a medical oncologist, a palliative care physician, a psychologist, a nurse and a nutritionist. Results: Between March 2014 and March 2016, 337 pts were visited, with different types of cancer. Median age was 69 (range: 34-93), 44% were men, median PS (ECOG) was 1.5, 47% were undergoing anti-cancer treatment. Reasons for referral included: physical complaints (71%), psychosocial issues (30.3%), nutritional problems (38%) and social problems (7%). For the 46% of patients, domiciliary health care was activated directly by the Local Health Department or through the General Practitioner; specific action have been made in relations to the problems encountered. Conclusions: The Interdisciplinary Clinic of Simultaneous Care carried out at IOV represents a successful pilot experience that proposes an organizational model for early integration of palliative care as an integral part of treating the oncology patient.