Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

 Dyspnoea-related distress in an Australian palliative care population with lung cancer. (146406)

Jill Chen 1 , Haryana Dhillon 1 , Megan Jeon 1 , Meera Agar 2 , Vanessa N Brunelli 3 , Chris Brown 4
  1. Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG), School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. IMPACCT, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
  4. Sydney Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Aims: To determine prevalence and characteristics of dyspnoea-related distress in an Australian palliative care population with lung cancer.

Methods: Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC), a collective of palliative care centres across Australia, provided data, including:

  • Demographics – age, sex, language, regionality.
  • Patient-rated symptom distress – dyspnoea, insomnia, fatigue, pain.
  • Clinician-rated problems – psychological/spiritual, other symptoms.
  • Resource Utilisation Groups-Activities of Daily Living (RUG-ADL).
  • Australian Karnofsky Performance Scale (AKPS).

Our primary outcome was proportion of cases reporting dyspnoea-related distress at first encounter with a service. Secondary outcomes were (i) associations between dyspnoea-related distress and other symptom distress, RUG-ADL and AKPS, and (ii) if demographic characteristics predicted dyspnoea-related distress.

Frequency analysis was used to determine our primary outcome. Generalised Estimated Equations (GEE) estimated odds ratios (OR) for dyspnoea accounting for longitudinal observations.

Results: The dataset comprised 240,171 clinical encounters, n=61,428 were complete first encounters. Of first encounters, n=37,811 (61.5%) experienced dyspnoea, of this mild dyspnoea was most prevalent (n=20,195; 45.6%), then moderate (n=13,745; 31%) and severe (n=3,871; 8.7%).

Dyspnoea was positively correlated with insomnia (r=.30), fatigue (r=.44), pain (r=.16), problems with psychological/spiritual wellbeing (r=.24), and other symptoms (r=.44).

Older patients, aged 50-65 and 65+ were more likely to report any dyspnoea than those younger (50-65 yrs: OR=1.17, 95% CI [1.12, 1.23]; 65+ yrs: OR=1.52, 95% CI [1.45, 1.59]. Non-English speakers were less likely to report dyspnoea OR=0.77, 95% CI [0.74, 0.79]. Patients located in large rural towns (OR=1.10, 95% CI [1.05, 1.15]) and remote/very remote communities (OR=1.13, 95% CI [1.08, 1.18]) were more likely to report dyspnoea.

Conclusions: Approximately two thirds of LC patients who enter palliative care services in Australia report experiencing dyspnoea-related distress, with almost 40% reporting moderate/severe levels. Dyspnoea appears to cluster with other symptoms. Older patients, English speakers, and some regional/remote communities are more likely to report dyspnoea-related distress.