Subgroup variations in benefit from telehealth palliative care for advanced lung cancer

We examined whether the impact on quality of life (QOL) of early palliative care delivered via video versus in-person visits varied across patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Between 6/2018 and 5/2023, 1250 patients with advanced NSCLC enrolled in a randomized trial comparing early palliative care delivered via video or in-person visits at 22 cancer centers. Using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung scale, we examined whether the effect of palliative care delivery modality on patient-reported QOL at 24 weeks post-enrollment varied by baseline sociodemographic and other factors. Black patients, Hispanic/Latino patients, and those with incomes <$50,000 reported better QOL in the video visit group versus the in-person group. However, Asian patients in the video visit group reported worse QOL than the in-person group. Early palliative care delivered via video may provide greater QOL benefits for Black and Hispanic/Latino patients with advanced NSCLC and those with lower incomes.