Comparison with other studies
This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine the
associations between the use of palliative chemotherapy and
patients’ location of death. Whereas previous studies have
identified patient, caregiver, and system level factors that
influence where cancer patients die,32-34 few have focused on
how the care that terminally ill cancer patients receive in the
final months of life relates to their place of death outside of
hospice or palliative care settings.35
In this study, only a minority of terminally ill cancer patients
preferred life extending medical care over care that focused on
relieving pain and discomfort. However, more than half wanted
chemotherapy if it would extend their life by one week,
including 60% of patients who were not receiving chemotherapy.
This finding is consistent with previous studies that have shown
that many cancer patients are willing to undergo significant
treatment related toxicities for small objective benefits.36 37 The
one week survival threshold for chemotherapy that we observed
is significantly lower than the four to five month thresholds
previously reported in similar populations of patients,37-39 and
it suggests that cancer patients may not regard chemotherapy
as burdensome because they are willing to receive it for very
limited temporal pay-off.
Our findings also underscore the challenge that many oncologists
face when discussing the option of stopping chemotherapy with
patients and their caregivers,40 particularly when patients—and
physicians—may equate stopping treatment with “giving up”
or “doing nothing.”41 42 In this study, we observed significant
differences in the rates of use of chemotherapy by institution,
although they were balanced after propensity weighting andtherefore did not influence the observed associations between
receipt of chemotherapy and patients’ end of life medical care
and place of death. Although our study could not directly
compare the relative influences of patient, provider, and
institution level factors, we suspect that a combination of these
factors explains the differences observed. Future studies should
examine the most important determinants of end of life use of
chemotherapy.
In this study, we did not observe a difference in survival between
patients who received palliative chemotherapy and those who
did not. This should not be interpreted as evidence that palliative
chemotherapy is futile in terminally ill cancer patients, as our
analysis was limited to small sample of decedents and may have
excluded patients who benefited most from chemotherapy.
Instead, this finding should serve as a reminder that palliative
chemotherapy does not necessarily extend life, but is associated
with more intensive end of life care and increased risk of dying
in an intensive care unit, so continuing treatment should not
come at the cost of engaging in advance care planning.14 15
Comparison with other studies
This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine the
associations between the use of palliative chemotherapy and
patients’ location of death. Whereas previous studies have
identified patient, caregiver, and system level factors that
influence where cancer patients die,32-34 few have focused on
how the care that terminally ill cancer patients receive in the
final months of life relates to their place of death outside of
hospice or palliative care settings.35
In this study, only a minority of terminally ill cancer patients
preferred life extending medical care over care that focused on
relieving pain and discomfort. However, more than half wanted
chemotherapy if it would extend their life by one week,
including 60% of patients who were not receiving chemotherapy.
This finding is consistent with previous studies that have shown
that many cancer patients are willing to undergo significant
treatment related toxicities for small objective benefits.36 37 The
one week survival threshold for chemotherapy that we observed
is significantly lower than the four to five month thresholds
previously reported in similar populations of patients,37-39 and
it suggests that cancer patients may not regard chemotherapy
as burdensome because they are willing to receive it for very
limited temporal pay-off.
Our findings also underscore the challenge that many oncologists
face when discussing the option of stopping chemotherapy with
patients and their caregivers,40 particularly when patients—and
physicians—may equate stopping treatment with “giving up”
or “doing nothing.”41 42 In this study, we observed significant
differences in the rates of use of chemotherapy by institution,
although they were balanced after propensity weighting andtherefore did not influence the observed associations between
receipt of chemotherapy and patients’ end of life medical care
and place of death. Although our study could not directly
compare the relative influences of patient, provider, and
institution level factors, we suspect that a combination of these
factors explains the differences observed. Future studies should
examine the most important determinants of end of life use of
chemotherapy.
In this study, we did not observe a difference in survival between
patients who received palliative chemotherapy and those who
did not. This should not be interpreted as evidence that palliative
chemotherapy is futile in terminally ill cancer patients, as our
analysis was limited to small sample of decedents and may have
excluded patients who benefited most from chemotherapy.
Instead, this finding should serve as a reminder that palliative
chemotherapy does not necessarily extend life, but is associated
with more intensive end of life care and increased risk of dying
in an intensive care unit, so continuing treatment should not
come at the cost of engaging in advance care planning.14 15
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