Reduced symptom burden after visiting an outpatient supportive oncology clinic.

204 Background: Outpatient palliative care in supportive oncology clinics (SOC) is growing and has shown promise in controlling symptoms. We sought toinvestigate the impact on symptom burden of a SOC in a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Methods: New and returning SOC patients referred from our health system’s oncologists from November 2011 through May 2014 completed the Condensed Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale plus a sexual dysfunction structured assessment. Visits include a structured symptom assessment and personalized treatment plan from the clinic’s part-time physician and/or nurse practitioner. Patients rated from 0-4 how bothersome 15 cancer symptoms were. Descriptive statistics were calculated. We used the Wilcoxon signed rank test to compare symptom scores at patients’ first and second visits. Results: 135 patients had multiple SOC visits. Mean age was 54.7 (SD 12.5) years. 55.3% were female. The most common cancers were breast, lung, and head and neck (18.1% e...