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August 29, 2026BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care

Objective assessment of activities of daily living and prognosis in patients with terminal cancer in the palliative care unit: a retrospective cohort study

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Authors

SNShunsuke NakanishiRSRiki SakataANAyaka Nishimura

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Overview

Retrospective cohort study reveals higher functional independence predicts longer survival and home discharge in terminal cancer, indicating value in palliative rehabilitation goal setting.

Key Points

  • To determine whether objective assessments of activities of daily living using the Functional Independence Measure can predict survival and support rehabilitation goal setting in terminal cancer.
  • Analyzed a retrospective cohort of 224 patients with terminal cancer admitted to a palliative care unit.
  • Stratified patients into low (18–53), middle (54–90), and high (91–126) groups using total Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores.
  • Evaluated overall survival via Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression, and modeled discharge to home using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analysis.
  • Median overall survival was significantly longer in the high (40 days) and middle (23 days) groups compared to the low group (15 days) (p<0.01).
  • Total FIM score was an independent predictor of overall survival in multivariate Cox regression (HR: 0.58, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.83, p<0.01).
  • Discharge-to-home rates were 62.1% in the high group versus 24.7% in the middle and 27.5% in the low group, with a cut-off score of 87.0 and cohabiting caregivers independently predicting discharge.

Cite This Study

Nakanishi et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9299db8e5d7d1fc0c120f6https://doi.org/10.1136/spcare-2026-006303
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