Palliative care services can decrease physical and psychosocial distress in patients with advanced cancer. However, most patients with cancer die without access to palliative care services (APCS), and patterns of referral are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of patients' access to palliative care.
Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, Section of Symptom Control and Palliative Care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.