JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Survival varies for patients with advanced dementia, and accurate prognostic tools have not been developed. A small proportion of patients admitted to hospice have dementia, in part because of the difficulty in predicting survival. ⋯ A risk score based on 12 variables from the MDS estimates 6-month mortality for nursing home residents with advanced dementia with greater accuracy than existing prognostic guidelines.
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Despite the importance of diversity of cancer trial participants with regard to race, ethnicity, age, and sex, there is little recent information about the representation of these groups in clinical trials. ⋯ Enrollment in cancer trials is low for all patient groups. Racial and ethnic minorities, women, and the elderly were less likely to enroll in cooperative group cancer trials than were whites, men, and younger patients, respectively. The proportion of trial participants who are black has declined in recent years.