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An important new medical study finds that chemotherapy does not extend life for end-stage, terminal cancer patients. What's more, those who received chemotherapy treatment near the end of their disease had a worsequality of life than those who didn't.
This study could reshape the debate about end-of-life care in America, one that often focuses on the idea of "rationing" care for terminal patients. It suggests that what's good for patients — better quality of life — doesn't always mean more treatment and more spending. It also makes a compelling case that more medicine isn't always best, and that a preference for more aggressive treatment can make someone's final moments of life worse.
The paper, published in JAMA Oncology, looked at 312 patients who died from cancer between 2002 and 2008. About half (158 people) were receiving chemotherapy treatment when they signed up for the study, while the rest were not. This was not a randomized trial, one in which a group is split up and assigned to either chemotherapy or no chemotherapy. While a randomized trial would produce more robust results — it would show what was different when patients were randomly assigned treatment — it could face ethical obstacles of depriving some patients of treatment.
Instead, this study was observational: It looked at patients who had made a decision, with their doctor, about whether to pursue chemotherapy. The researchers say they did control for possible variables that could affect the decision about whether to pursue treatment, but still note this is one limitation on their findings.
Medical records showed when each patient died, and revealed that patients receiving chemotherapy didn't live any longer than those who didn't receive chemo.
Read more here. (Vox)
This study could reshape the debate about end-of-life care in America, one that often focuses on the idea of "rationing" care for terminal patients. It suggests that what's good for patients — better quality of life — doesn't always mean more treatment and more spending. It also makes a compelling case that more medicine isn't always best, and that a preference for more aggressive treatment can make someone's final moments of life worse.
The paper, published in JAMA Oncology, looked at 312 patients who died from cancer between 2002 and 2008. About half (158 people) were receiving chemotherapy treatment when they signed up for the study, while the rest were not. This was not a randomized trial, one in which a group is split up and assigned to either chemotherapy or no chemotherapy. While a randomized trial would produce more robust results — it would show what was different when patients were randomly assigned treatment — it could face ethical obstacles of depriving some patients of treatment.
Instead, this study was observational: It looked at patients who had made a decision, with their doctor, about whether to pursue chemotherapy. The researchers say they did control for possible variables that could affect the decision about whether to pursue treatment, but still note this is one limitation on their findings.
Medical records showed when each patient died, and revealed that patients receiving chemotherapy didn't live any longer than those who didn't receive chemo.
Read more here. (Vox)
