The study confirmed the effectiveness of radiotherapy plus temozolomide in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. It was established that the application of adjuvant temozolomide for at least 4 cycles is required to obtain a benefit from adjuvant therapy. However, further studies are needed to confirm these data.

An organized palliative care system was lacking in Turkey before 2010. One of the pillars of Turkish Cancer Control Programme is palliative care. The Pallia-Turk project in this respect has been implemented by the Ministry since 2010. The project is unique since it is population based and organized at the primary level. This means, the whole population (>70 million) will have the quickest and easiest way for access to palliative care. This manuscript briefly summarizes the situation before the project and updates what has been done in last 2 years with the project.

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Palliative care (PC) is the comprehensive integrated care of patients and their families who are facing problems associated with a life-threatening illness. In 2014, the World Health Assembly Resolution on Palliative Care called for all countries to incorporate palliative care provision into their healthcare systems. Unfortunately, the desired outcomes have not been obtained yet, and there is still a substantial unmet need for palliative care for chronic life-limiting health problems in most parts of the world. Turkey is a large peninsula situated between the continents of Europe and Asia. It is a modern, secular and unitary republic that bridges different religions and cultures. The population of the country is increasing similarly to world statistics, with 4.3% of people 65 years or older in 1990, 5.7% in 2000 and 8.3% in 2016 (Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, 2017). Along with the ageing of the population, the incidences of cancer and other non-communicable chronic diseases are also increasing at a rapid rate. Cancer was reported to be the cause of 20% of death after cardiovascular diseases in Turkey. Therefore, the need for palliative care for cancer and other chronic life-limiting diseases is increasing in the same manner. The awareness of palliative care has started in the 1990s and disseminated very slowly through the years in Turkey. It gained acceleration with the Transformation Programme in Health which