Specific challenges in end-of-life care for patients with hematological malignancies.

Purpose of review The disease-related burden of patients with hematological malignancies is comparable with patients suffering from solid tumors. Palliative care offers relief from suffering independent of type of disease and prognosis. The prevalence of hematological malignancies is expected to increase in the next 20 years because of better therapeutic options with longer survival and because of the aging population. However, patients with hematological malignancies are underrepresented in palliative care as these diseases are associated with special care needs and prognostic uncertainty, which differ from the unambiguity of terminally ill patients with solid tumors. This review describes…