Mean plot of activities of daily living measured using the modified Barthel Index. Mean total scores in the intervention and control groups are shown at days 1, 8, 15, and 22 during the 3-week study period. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. mBI indicates modified Barthel Index. Credit: Cancer (2026). DOI: 10.1002/cncr.70485
Maintaining activities of daily living (ADLs) is important for terminally ill cancer patients, and dependency is associated with psychological distress. However, evidence for rehabilitation remains scarce in this setting.
To address this, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team evaluated the effectiveness of a structured program for rehabilitation therapists that systematically organizes key recommended behaviors for caring for cancer patients admitted to inpatient hospice and palliative care units.
The work is published in the journal Cancer.
The researchers evaluated the efficacy of a structured rehabilitation program for maintaining ADLs among terminally ill cancer patients. This multicenter randomized controlled trial across 19 Japanese inpatient hospice and palliative care units (PCUs) enrolled terminally ill cancer patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) 2–3, a life expectancy of at least three weeks and no severe symptoms.
