Impact of Home-Based Antineoplastic Treatment Administration on Portuguese Patients: A Real-World Study of the ONConsigo Project.

BACKGROUND

Cancer places a substantial burden on patients and healthcare systems, highlighting the need for patient-centered care models. Home-based oncology care has emerged as a strategy to improve quality of life (QoL). The ONConsigo project, implemented in Portugal in June 2023, delivers systemic cancer treatment at home.

METHODS

This observational cohort study included patients enrolled in the ONConsigo program. QoL was assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Personal Well-Being Index (PWI) at baseline and 2-6 months after treatment initiation. Paired comparisons were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, with p-values adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) procedure. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

RESULTS

Sixty-two patients were included (median age: 82 years; 51.6% male). Most of them had prostate (50%) or breast cancer (48.4%), and 61.3% were treated with palliative intent. Significant improvements were observed in treatment-related interference with family life, social life, and financial difficulties (all FDR-adjusted p=0.01). No significant changes were observed in the remaining questionnaire items after correction for multiple comparisons.

CONCLUSIONS

Home-based oncology care was associated with improvements in perceived global health status and in family, social, and financial dimensions of QoL, reducing treatment-related interference in daily life and decreasing financial burden. These findings support domiciliary antineoplastic therapy as a feasible patient-centered care model that warrants further evaluation in prospective controlled studies.