Real-World Insights: End-of-Life Care for Patients with Terminal Gastric Cancer at Home

As the Japanese population continues to age, home health care provision has greater significance. However, the number of patients with terminal cancer receiving end-of-life care at home remains limited, and predicting the prognosis of patients with terminal-stage gastric cancer is challenging.

To analyze the real-world data of patients with terminal gastric cancer receiving end-of-life care at home to provide insights into their care and health outcomes.

A two-center retrospective study.

This study focused on terminal patients with gastric cancer who died at home between 2021 and 2024 in Japan. A total of 27 participants (14 males and 13 females) were included in the study, with a median age of 78 years.

First, we analyzed the detailed clinical course of the patients during home care. Second, we performed a comparative analysis by dividing the patients into two groups based on median overall survival (OS).

The median OS during home care was 22 days. The patients were divided into two groups: long OS (OS-L) and short OS (OS-S). Strong opioid use and home oxygen therapy were recorded in 22 and nine patients, respectively. In the OS-S group, oral intake was significantly reduced (25.0% vs. 66.7%, p = 0.032). There was a notable difference in serum albumin levels between the two groups (2.8 vs. 2.4 mg/dL, p = 0.038). The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)/albumin was significantly higher in the OS-S group compared to the OS-L group (1.0 vs. 2.3, p = 0.032).

Oral intake, serum albumin level, and NLR/albumin were important prognostic factors in end-of-life care at home of patients with terminal gastric cancer.