Sharon Watanabe, MD

Area of Study / Keywords

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About

Sharon Watanabe graduated from McGill University in 1988.  After training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of Toronto, she completed a fellowship in Palliative Care Medicine at the University of Alberta.  She became a staff physician in the Tertiary Palliative Care Unit at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, and later the Unit's Director.  She is currently Director of the Department of Symptom Control and Palliative Care at the Cross Cancer Institute, and of the Division of Palliative Care Medicine in the Department of Oncology.

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Research

Symptom assessment:  The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a self-report tool for symptom intensity.  It was introduced in 1991 and has since undergone widespread adoption nationally and internationally for clinical, research and administrative purposes.   Watanabe published a survey of palliative care nurses in Edmonton regarding their perceptions of the ESAS, which illustrated some limitations of the instrument.  Then, in collaboration with Cheryl Nekolaichuk, she contributed to a review of validation studies focusing on ESAS.  Drs. Nekolaichuk and Watanabe received a grant from the CIHR New Emerging Team in Difficult Pain Problems to conduct a qualitative study of patient perspectives on the ESAS.  Based on problematic areas identified by the qualitative study, a revised version of the ESAS (ESAS-r) was created.  They received a further grant to compare the ESAS and ESAS-r in an international multicentre study, demonstrating that the revised instrument is preferred by patients.  A survey has also shown that the ESAS-r is viewed favourably by palliative care providers who it in clinical practice.  The ESAS-r has been implemented as part of routine screening for distress in all patients attending oncology clinics in Alberta.

Palliative care consultation by telehealth:  Palliative and supportive care services are readily accessible to cancer patients residing in urban areas, but not consistently available in rural and remote areas.   Watanabe led the Virtual Pain and Symptom Control/Palliative Radiotherapy Clinic pilot project, supported by a Clinical Telehealth Grant from Alberta Health and Wellness.  The clinic provides specialist multidisciplinary consultation to cancer patients in rural Northern Alberta, by using technology to link patients and specially-trained community nurses with the team at the Cross Cancer Institute.  Patient and referring physician satisfaction with the service has been high, and significant savings have been realized in terms of travel and associated cost for patients and families.  As the first clinic of its kind, the clinic has attracted interest nationally and internationally. Based on the success of the pilot project, the clinic is now available as a core service.

Integration of palliative care in oncology:  Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated improved quality of life and other outcomes for patients with advanced cancer who receive palliative care early in the disease trajectory.  Dr. Watanabe and colleagues have studied patterns of palliative care consultation at the Cross Cancer Institute, and determined that a minority of patients with advanced disease received specialist palliative care, generally late in the illness, with variation according to demographic and clinical factors.  They also found that specialist palliative care involvement is associated with lower frequency of aggressive care at the end of life.  Dr. Watanabe is a co-investigator in the Palliative Care Early and Systematic project, which is testing a pathway for an early palliative approach to care for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Yoko Tarumi, Vickie Baracos, Sonya Lowe, Ayoola Ademola, Allison Chabassol, Tracy Wildeman, Megan Sellick, Jennifer Dutka, Vincent Ha, Sharon M. Watanabe

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2025 October; 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.07.006

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Harrison Moore, Cara Bablitz, Anna Santos Salas, Heather Morris, Aynharan Sinnarajah, Sharon M. Watanabe

Palliative Care and Social Practice. 2024 January; 10.1177/26323524241264880

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Cara Robertson; Sharon M. Watanabe; Aynharan Sinnarajah; Alexei Potapov; Viane Faily; Yoko Tarumi; Vickie E. Baracos

Current Oncology. 2023 January; 10.3390/curroncol30010068

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Fairchild A., Hill J., Alhumaid M., Rau A., Ghosh S., Le A., Watanabe S.M.

Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences. 2022 February; 53 (2):S51-S55 10.1016/j.jmir.2022.01.003

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Baracos VE, Watanabe SM, Fearon KCH

Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, 6th edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2018. 2021 September; n/a

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Sellick M, Watanabe SM, Tarumi Y

Palliative Medicine: A Case-Based Manual, 4th EditionOxford: Oxford University Press 2019. 2021 September; n/a

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Current Oncology. 2021 January; 10.3390/curroncol28020140

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Watanabe, S.M.; Faily, V.; Mawani, A.; Huot, A.; Tarumi, Y.; Potapov, A.; Fassbender, K.; Fairchild, A.; Joy, A.A.; King, K.M. et al.

The Oncologist. 2020 June; 10.1634/theoncologist.2019-0384

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Supportive Care in Cancer. 2019 January; 10.1007/s00520-019-04726-z

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Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2017 January; 10.1089/jpm.2016.0510

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The Lancet Oncology. 2016 January; 10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30577-0

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Supportive Care in Cancer. 2013 January; 10.1007/s00520-012-1649-7

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Psycho-Oncology. 2012 January; 10.1002/pon.1996

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Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2011 January; 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.04.020

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Supportive Care in Cancer. 2009 January; 10.1007/s00520-008-0522-1

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Palliative Medicine. 2008 January; 10.1177/0269216307087659

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