A recently updated clinical practice guideline from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) strongly recommends that all patients with advanced cancer receive palliative care early in the disease course, concurrent with active treatment.¹ We applaud this recognition that the pillars of palliative care—including assessment and treatment of distressing symptoms, exploration of illness understanding and prognostic awareness, clarification of treatment goals, and assistance with decision making—should be the standard of care. Over the past 10 years, a growing evidence base has demonstrated the value of these services in promoting quality of life for patients with advanced cancer.² The most recent ASCO guidelines build on reports from the Institute of Medicine and previous ASCO consensus statements defining palliative care as an integral part of oncology.

美国临床肿瘤学会（ASCO）最近更新的临床实践指南强烈建议所有晚期癌症患者在病程中尽早接受姑息治疗，并积极治疗。¹我们对此表示赞赏，认为姑息治疗的支柱应成为治疗的标准，其中包括痛苦症状的评估和治疗，对疾病的理解和预后意识的探索，治疗目标的明确化以及决策的协助。在过去的10年中，越来越多的证据表明这些服务在提高晚期癌症患者的生活质量方面的价值。^2个 最新的ASCO指南建立在医学研究所的报告和先前的ASCO共识声明的基础上，这些声明将姑息治疗定义为肿瘤学的组成部分。