A new study suggests that patients may not benefit from end-of-life chemotherapy ? and that for many, their quality of life may worsen in their final weeks compared with patients who forgo last-ditch treatment.
It is an excruciating question for cancer patients with a prognosis of months to live: Should they try another round of chemotherapy?
Guidelines for oncologists say no for very sick patients, those who are often bedridden and cannot handle most daily needs themselves. But for patients who are more self-sufficient, chemotherapy is considered a reasonable option. Despite its well-known toxic side effects, many end-stage patients and their doctors have considered chemotherapy worth trying, believing it may ease discomfort or buy time.
A new study suggests that even those stronger patients may not benefit from end-of-life chemotherapy ? and that for many, their quality of life may worsen in their final weeks compared with patients who forgo last-ditch treatment.
?It worsened quality of life for those that are relatively healthy, and those are the ones that the guidelines support treating,? said Dr. Charles Blanke, a medical oncologist at Oregon Health & Science University, who was not involved in the study. ?Chemotherapy is supposed to either help people live better or help them live longer, and this study showed that chemotherapy did neither.?
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Chemotherapy may worsen end-of-life quality, study finds | The Seattle Times