Which treatment works best under which conditions? It's one of the most important questions medical researchers ever ask, and this year is no exception. Studies of treatment options for a type of lung cancer, how far to lower blood pressure in diabetics, and surgical or non-surgical options for stenosis all topped this year's list of the most important papers in the medical field, as reviewed and ranked by members of the Faculty of 1000.linkurl:5. Early palliative care helps in advanced cancer;http://f1000.com/4929959?key=rnr30w57fzggfr9 linkurl:The paper:;http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/20818875?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m J.S. Temel, et al., "Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer," N Engl J Med, 363:733-42, 2010.

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Patients with inoperable, metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer may benefit from early palliative care, reporting a better quality of life, and less depression than those who did not receive palliative care. Median survival also improved in those receiving early palliative care, even though they...