Role of palliative care nurse coordination in symptom control and care planning.

12063 Background: Effective coordination by palliative care nurses plays a central role in improving communication, symptom assessment, and timely care planning for patients with advanced cancer. However, evidence on the measurable impact of nurse-led palliative coordination—particularly in Asian oncology settings-remains limited. This study evaluates the outcomes of a nurse-coordinated palliative care model on symptom control and care planning among patients with advanced cancer. Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients with advanced cancer who received palliative care nurse coordination from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025. The intervention consisted of systematic ESAS-based symptom assessment, coordination with oncology teams, family meetings, and facilitation of advance care planning. Outcomes included changes in symptom scores from baseline to follow-up, completion of advance care planning (ACP) and DNR documentation, and health-care utilization indicators.Distress score was derived from the ESAS psychological subscale, calculated as the sum of anxiety and depression scores. Descriptive statistics and paired comparisons were used for analysis. Results: A total of 195 patients were included (mean age 60.5 years; range 21–100). Following nurse-led palliative coordination, median pain scores decreased from 8 to 3 (p < 0.01). Median dyspnea scores improved from 6 to 1, representing an 83.3% reduction (p < 0.01). Median distress scores decreased from 6 to 2, corresponding to a 66.7% improvement (p < 0.01).Completion of advance care planning increased from 10% to 97%. DNR documentation improved from 20% to 80%, with the exception of one Arabic patient for whom DNR documentation was not completed. Under the nurse-led palliative care coordination model, 98.5% of patients with advanced cancer did not require unplanned emergency room utilization and avoided unnecessary ICU admissions. These outcomes highlight the effectiveness of proactive symptom management and comprehensive care planning. Conclusions: Nurse-led palliative care coordination was associated with significant improvements in symptom control and substantially higher completion rates of care planning among patients with advanced cancer. These results support integrating palliative nurses as key coordinators in oncology settings to enhance patient-centered and goal-concordant care.