# Curative intent vs palliative intent

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/curative-intent/  
OnCo record `curative-intent` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Whether the goal of treatment is to eliminate the cancer for good (curative) or to control it, relieve symptoms and extend life when cure is not possible (palliative). The intent, not the drug, defines the word: the same chemotherapy can be either.

## Summary

Curative-intent treatment usually combines surgery or radiotherapy with systemic therapy for localised or locally advanced disease and accepts more toxicity for a chance of cure; palliative-intent treatment for metastatic disease balances life extension against quality of life, and includes palliative radiotherapy for pain or bleeding and palliative surgery for obstruction. Best supportive care means symptom management without anticancer treatment and is the comparator in some trials. A growing minority of metastatic settings (oligometastatic disease, germ cell tumours, some lymphomas, MSI-high colorectal cancer on immunotherapy) blur the line, and early palliative care alongside curative or life-prolonging treatment improves outcomes.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: curative intent; curative-intent; curative; curable; potentially curable; cure rate; with curative intent; palliative intent; palliative; palliation; palliative chemotherapy; palliative treatment; non-curative; life-prolonging; best supportive care; BSC; supportive care alone; symptom control; cure rates

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palliative_care
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palliative_care

## Connected records

- terms: [Curettage and cautery](https://onco.cc/terms/curettage-and-cautery/), [How many radiotherapy visits: the prostate fractionation trials](https://onco.cc/terms/prostate-radiotherapy-fractionation/), [Locally advanced and locoregional disease](https://onco.cc/terms/locally-advanced/), [Oligometastatic disease](https://onco.cc/terms/oligometastatic/), [Resectable, borderline resectable and unresectable](https://onco.cc/terms/resectability/)
- technologies: [Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment](https://onco.cc/technologies/alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment/), [Early integrated palliative care](https://onco.cc/technologies/palliative-care/), [Hospice and end-of-life care](https://onco.cc/technologies/hospice-end-of-life/), [Palliative radiotherapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/palliative-radiotherapy/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- cancers: [Basal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/basal-cell-carcinoma/), [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/), [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/cutaneous-scc/), [Lung cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-cancer/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/), [Skin cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/skin-cancer/), [Small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/sclc/)
- trials: [ASCENDE-RT](https://onco.cc/trials/ascende-rt/), [DART 01/05 GICOR](https://onco.cc/trials/dart-01-05-gicor/), [EORTC 22863](https://onco.cc/trials/eortc-22863/), [EORTC 22961](https://onco.cc/trials/eortc-22961/), [EORTC 22991](https://onco.cc/trials/eortc-22991/), [Intergroup 0096 (Turrisi): twice-daily versus once-daily thoracic radiotherapy](https://onco.cc/trials/turrisi-intergroup-0096/), [JCOG0802 / WJOG4607L](https://onco.cc/trials/jcog0802/), [Lung ART](https://onco.cc/trials/lung-art/), [NRG Oncology RTOG 0521](https://onco.cc/trials/rtog-0521/), [PROFIT (Prostate Fractionated Irradiation Trial)](https://onco.cc/trials/profit-trial/), [Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation Overview (Auperin meta-analysis)](https://onco.cc/trials/pci-overview-1999/), [RTOG 0415](https://onco.cc/trials/rtog-0415/), [RTOG 94-08](https://onco.cc/trials/rtog-9408/), [SPCG-4 (Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study 4)](https://onco.cc/trials/spcg-4/), [SPCG-7/SFUO-3](https://onco.cc/trials/spcg-7/), [STARS and ROSEL pooled analysis](https://onco.cc/trials/stars-rosel/)
- journals: [Current oncology reports](https://onco.cc/journals/current-oncology-reports/), [Current treatment options in oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/current-treatment-options-in-oncology/), [Japanese journal of clinical oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/japanese-journal-of-clinical-oncology/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/curative-intent.json