End-Stage Cancer Patients May Not Benefit From Chemotherapy.

By Dr Deepu

The New York Times (7/24, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports that research published in JAMA Oncology suggests that patients with end-stage cancer “may not benefit from...chemotherapy — and that for many, their quality of life may worsen in their final weeks compared with patients who forgo last-ditch treatment.” Investigators “followed 312 adult patients with a prognosis of six months or less to live.”

        On its website, CBS News (7/24, Welch) reports that the investigators found that “giving chemotherapy to end-stage cancer patients near death was associated with worse quality of life among those who could still perform many daily life functions.” The researchers “also found that chemotherapy had no effect on the quality of life on less-functional patients close to death.”

        The Washington Post (7/24, Johnson) “Wonkblog” reports that “In an accompanyingeditorial, two physicians from the Oregon Health and Science University wrote that there are only two reasons to give a patient chemotherapy, which can be time-consuming, expensive, and have side effects: it should either extend their lives or make their lives better.”

        TIME (7/24, Park) points out that some “groups like the” American Society of Clinical Oncology “recently advised” physicians “to be more judicious with their chemotherapy use in terminal patients.” Also covering the story are USA Today (7/24, Szabo), NPR (7/24, Harris), AFP(7/24), HealthDay (7/24, Preidt), and Medscape(7/24).