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Opportunities to improve care for patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis and their caregivers.

207 Background: Cancers of the gynecologic and gastrointestinal tracts (GYN/GI) often metastasize along the peritoneum (peritoneal carcinomatosis; PC), causing ascites and malignant obstructions of the bowel, urinary tract, and biliary tree. Patients with PC frequently require palliative surgical interventions; e.g., ostomies, gastric tubes, and catheters. To date, few researchers have described the unique needs of these patients and their caregivers. Methods: We recruited adult patients with advanced GYN/GI cancers, a recent hospitalization for PC, and a new complex care need. We invited adult caregivers of enrolled patients to participate. We abstracted patients’ clinical characteristics and outcomes from the medical record. At baseline, patients completed items related to perceived health status and advance care planning, while caregivers completed the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) and items related to their caregiving role. All participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: Sixty-five patients and 40 caregivers completed surveys. Fifty-six (86%) patients had GYN and nine (14%) had GI cancers. Most (56/65, 86%) were re-hospitalized within two months, and over a quarter (18/65, 27%) died within six months of enrollment. Twenty-four (37%) reported they were terminally ill, but only nine (14%) had spoken with a physician about the care they would want to receive if they were dying. Caregivers were primarily spouses (27/40, 70%) who provided most or all of the care for their loved one (25/40, 63%) and engaged in caregiving seven days per week (27/40, 68%). Of the four CRA subscales measuring negative caregiving experiences, mean scores were highest for impact on schedule (3.3, SD = 0.8; possible range 1-5, higher scores indicate greater burden), followed by impact on finances (2.3, SD = 1.1), impact on health (2.0, SD = 0.65), and lack of family support (1.8, SD = 0.67). Caregivers reported that they received training on a mean of 1.1 (SD = 1.3) clinical care tasks but performed a mean of 2.9 (SD = 1.7) clinical care tasks. Thirty-two (49%) patients and 9 (23%) caregivers met borderline case or case criteria for depressive symptoms, while 26 (40%) patients and 15 (38%) caregivers met borderline case or case criteria for anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Patients with PC and their caregivers are highly burdened and distressed. Patients are at high-risk for re-hospitalization, but few have discussed their end-of-life wishes with their medical teams. Interventions that train these patients and their caregivers to perform clinical care tasks, facilitate serious illness conversations, and provide psychosocial support are needed. Clinical trial information: NCT03367247.