[Palliative care in cancer]

Palliative care is not restricted to end-stage disease. It should be envisaged and organised as soon as it is known that the disease is incurable. Thus, palliative and curative care are often complementary and are intricate over months or years to improve the quality of life of the patient. In the advanced stage, limitation or stopping of treatment may be considered on the basis of multiple criteria. We present the consequences of each approach, in particular on the terminal stage and the place of care. Palliative care is part of the continuing management of end-stage patients.