A RECENT clinical trial has demonstrated that a shared model of care after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) between HCT specialists and local oncologists is both safe and improves patients’ quality of life in the early post-transplant period. The study, which included 302 patients across multiple sites, explored whether such a model could preserve no relapse mortality (NRM) and offer better patient outcomes.
Patients were randomly assigned to either shared care, involving alternating post-HCT visits between Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and local oncology practices, or usual care, where all follow-up visits occurred at DFCI. The results showed no significant difference in NRM at day 100 between the two groups (2.6% vs. 2.7%, respectively), indicating that shared care did not compromise survival.
Notably, patients in the shared care group experienced improved quality of life at day 100, as measured by the FACT-BMT and QLQ-C30 instruments. The shared care group had higher scores on both measures compared to the usual care group at day 100, with improvements in both physical and global health scores. However, by day 180, there were no significant differences in quality of life between the two groups.
These findings suggest that a shared care model can be a viable option for patients living far from transplant centres, offering early quality of life benefits without affecting long-term survival outcomes. This approach could potentially ease the burden on both patients and caregivers while maintaining high standards of post-transplant care.
Helena Bradbury, EMJ
Reference
Abel GA et al. Shared local oncology care after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Oncol. 2025;doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.5786.
