Abstract: Objective: To systematically review the qualitative studies of dignity experience in patients with advanced cancer at the end of life, and to provide references for clinical practice and policies of hospice care for patients with advanced cancer. Methods: Relational database were searched from inception to February 2022 for qualitative studies on the dignity experience of patients with advance cancer. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool for qualitative studies from Australia was used to evaluate the quality of included studies. The results were integrated by aggregative synthesis methods. Results: A total of 10 studies were included, 33 complete findings were grouped according to their similarities to form 10 categories, then resulted in 3 synthesized findings. Physiological related dignity: the dignity experience caused directly by physical symptoms and autonomic dysfunction impaired physiological dignity. Psychological related dignity: the dignity experience influenced by psychological distress, spiritual value and positive coping. Social related dignity: the dignity experience composed of social roles and privacy, attitudes and behaviors of others, financial burden, and medical resource needs. Conclusion: Medical institutions, families and society need to pay attention to the dignity experience of patients with advanced cancer and provide support from physiological, psychological and social dimensions to maintain the dignity of patients with advanced cancer.

Key words: cancer; terminally; dignity experience; qualitative research; Meta-synthesis