Burt, J.

Objective: to investigate variations in the use of specialist palliative care (SPC) services for adult cancer patients, in relation to age.

Design: systematic review of studies examining use of or referral to SPC services in adult cancer patients.

Background: there is limited understanding of symptoms and care in the last few months of life for adults dying from causes other than cancer.

Objective: the aim of the study is to compare the experiences in the community in the last 3 months of life of older adults dying from cancer and non-cancer causes.

Design: the study employed a retrospective cross-sectional survey of bereaved relatives.

Setting: the survey took place across eight cancer networks in England.