Page 41 - IJSA, Vol. 4, No 2, 2021

International Journal of Science Annals, Vol. 5, No. 1-2, 2022
рrint ISSN: 2617-2682; online ISSN: 2707-3637; DOI:10.26697/ijsa

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. Rehabilitation

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Significance of Palliative Care for

the Quality of Life for Oncology Patients

Authors’ Contribution:
2 DEFG
A – Study design; Nikolov A. 1 ABCDEFG , Georgieva L.
B – Data collection;
C – Statistical analysis; 1 Dental Clinic “Zahnzentrum Rudow“, Germany
D – Data interpretation; 2 Medical University – Sofia, Bulgaria
E – Manuscript preparation;
F – Literature search; Received: 12.10.2022; Accepted: 17.11.2022; Published: 25.12.2022
G – Funds collection
Abstract
Background and Oncological diseases are one of the biggest problems that can cause irreparable
Aim of Study: harm to human health. The significance of various types’ medical care on the
quality of life for patients with malignant diseases remains an urgent research
problem.
The aim of the study: to provide empirical data for the significance of palliative
care in supporting the quality of life for patients with gastric cancer.

Material and Methods: The study was conducted at the University Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany. A
representative sample of the study subjects consisted of 378 patients diagnosed
with gastric cancer. Comparative analyzes to approaches in cancer prevention,
as well as 5-year survival among patients with gastric cancer in Germany,
Bulgaria, Japan, and Singapore were used.

Results: The majority of the patients in the study sample from Germany died in their homes
or in hospices (91.2%), while only a small proportion died in the hospital (8.7%).
Based on the international comparison, we concluded that in Bulgaria, the
ongoing treatment and care of terminally ill patients differ significantly in terms
of their scope, development level and impact on the patients. The 5-year survival
rate for stomach cancer in Bulgaria is 3%, which is much lower than in Asian
countries, where there is a significantly higher survival rate for this disease:
Singapore 10-30%, Japan 12-35%.

Conclusions: The significance of the palliative care to support the quality of life for oncological
patients has been constantly increasing in recent years. Systemic and long-term
palliative care provides the necessary support for quality of life and can affect
the 5-year survival of oncological patients. This is confirmed by our study in
Germany, where rates are 28-30%. The authors recommend providing
professional, high-quality palliative care as needed to ensure quality of life for
patients with malignant diseases.

Keywords: palliative care, life quality, 5-year survival, patients, stomach cancer, mortality
from gastric cancer

Copyright: © 2022 Nikolov A., Georgieva L. Published by Archives of International Journal
of Science Annals

DOI and UDC DOI https://doi.org/10.26697/ijsa.2022.1-2.4 UDC 616-082:616-006

Conflict of interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests

Peer review: Double-blind review

Source of support: This research did not receive any outside funding or support

Information about Nikolov Alexander (Corresponding Author) – https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5414-
the authors: 9378; [email protected]; PhD student, Dental Clinic
“Zahnzentrum Rudow“, Berlin, Germany.
Georgieva Lidia – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9320-9203; Doctor of Medical
Sciences, MD, Professor, Medical University – Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria.

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