Clinical trial · Interventional
A Trial Investigating the Effect of Specialised Palliative Care on Symptoms, Survival, Economical Factors and Satisfaction
Danish Palliative Care Trial (DanPaCT): A Randomised Clinical Multi-centre Trial Investigating the Effect of Specialised Palliative Care on Symptoms, Survival, Economical Factors and Satisfaction in Patients With Cancer Reporting Palliative Needs
NCT01348048CI-TRIAL-00016961DanPaCTcompletedPhase 4ClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrialsProvenance
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Specialised palliative care (SPC) seeks to relieve suffering and improve quality of life in patients with a life threatening disease such as advanced cancer. Many patients with advanced cancer are not in contact with SPC. Previous studies have shown that among advanced cancer patients not referred to SPC there is a significant prevalence of symptoms, problems and needs. The aims of the present study are to investigate whether patients with metastatic cancer, who report palliative needs in a screening, will benefit from being referred to SPC and to investigate the economical consequences of such a referral.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metastatic Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specialised palliative care (SPC) | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Specialised palliative care (SPC) group
- description
- Patients continue with their standard treatment (typically they receive treatment in one or more hospitals departments and from their GP). In addition, they are offered a consultation in the SPC out-patient clinic (or at home if the patient cannot attend the hospital) as soon as possible and no more than one week after randomization. If possible, each patient will have at least two contacts to the SPC in the trial period.
- interventionNames
- Other: Specialised palliative care (SPC)
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Standard care group
- description
- Patients continue with their standard treatment. They are instructed to contact either their GP or their hospital department if they feel that additional treatment or care is needed.
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Reduction in the EORTC QLQ-C30 scale that constitutes the patient's primary need
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Cancer stage 4 according to the TNM system (for patients with cancer in CNS inclusion criteria is: cancer grade three or four and no possibility of radical treatment) * At least 18 years * Live in the area of the participating hospitals * No contact with specialised palliative care within the previous year * At least one palliative need defined as a EORTC QLQ-C30 scale score of at least 50% of the score corresponding to maximal symptomatology or maximal functional impairment * Four additional symptoms (defined as patients answering, on average, at least 'a little' in any of the 14 function or symptom scales in the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire) * Written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Do not understand Danish well enough to participate in the study * Are judged incapable of co-operating with the trial protocol
References
Publications (5)
- BACKGROUNDJohnsen AT, Damkier A, Vejlgaard TB, Lindschou J, Sjogren P, Gluud C, Neergaard MA, Petersen MA, Lundorff LE, Pedersen L, Fayers P, Stromgren AS, Higginson IJ, Groenvold M. A randomised, multicentre clinical trial of specialised palliative care plus standard treatment versus standard treatment alone for cancer patients with palliative care needs: the Danish palliative care trial (DanPaCT) protocol. BMC Palliat Care. 2013 Oct 24;12(1):37. doi: 10.1186/1472-684X-12-37. PMID 24152880
- BACKGROUNDJohnsen AT, Petersen MA, Gluud C, Lindschou J, Fayers P, Sjogren P, Pedersen L, Neergaard MA, Vejlgaard TB, Damkier A, Nielsen JB, Stromgren AS, Higginson IJ, Groenvold M. Detailed statistical analysis plan for the Danish Palliative Care Trial (DanPaCT). Trials. 2014 Sep 26;15:376. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-15-376. PMID 25257804
- DERIVEDSkjoedt N, Johnsen AT, Sjogren P, Neergaard MA, Damkier A, Gluud C, Lindschou J, Fayers P, Higginson IJ, Stromgren AS, Groenvold M. Early specialised palliative care: interventions, symptoms, problems. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2021 Dec;11(4):444-453. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2019-002043. Epub 2020 Mar 27. PMID 32220944
- DERIVEDJohnsen AT, Petersen MA, Sjogren P, Pedersen L, Neergaard MA, Damkier A, Gluud C, Fayers P, Lindschou J, Stromgren AS, Nielsen JB, Higginson IJ, Groenvold M. Exploratory analyses of the Danish Palliative Care Trial (DanPaCT): a randomized trial of early specialized palliative care plus standard care versus standard care in advanced cancer patients. Support Care Cancer. 2020 May;28(5):2145-2155. doi: 10.1007/s00520-019-05021-7. Epub 2019 Aug 13. PMID 31410598
- DERIVEDGroenvold M, Petersen MA, Damkier A, Neergaard MA, Nielsen JB, Pedersen L, Sjogren P, Stromgren AS, Vejlgaard TB, Gluud C, Lindschou J, Fayers P, Higginson IJ, Johnsen AT. Randomised clinical trial of early specialist palliative care plus standard care versus standard care alone in patients with advanced cancer: The Danish Palliative Care Trial. Palliat Med. 2017 Oct;31(9):814-824. doi: 10.1177/0269216317705100. Epub 2017 May 12.