Palliative chemotherapy: oxymoron or misunderstanding?

BMC Palliative Care

Commentary

TW LeBlanc¹  EJ Roeland² 

[1] Department of Medicine, Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy, Duke University School of Medicine, 27710, Durham, NC, USA;Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, 92093, La Jolla, CA, USA;

关键词: Palliative Care;    Advanced Cancer;    Palliative Chemotherapy;    Symptom Burden;    Palliative Care Specialist;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12904-016-0109-4

 received in 2016-02-03, accepted in 2016-03-17,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Oncologists routinely prescribe chemotherapy for patients with advanced cancer. This practice is sometimes misunderstood by palliative care clinicians, yet data clearly show that chemotherapy can be a powerful palliative intervention when applied appropriately. Clarity regarding the term “palliative chemotherapy” is needed: it is chemotherapy given in the non-curative setting to optimize symptom control, improve quality of life, and sometimes to improve survival. Unfortunately, oncologists lack adequate tools to predict which patients will benefit. In a study recently published in BMC Palliative Care, Creutzfeldt et al. presented an innovative approach to advancing the science in this area: using patient reported outcomes to predict responses to palliative chemotherapy. With further research, investigators may be able to develop predictive models for use at the bedside to inform clinical decision-making about the risks and benefits of treatment. In the meantime, oncologists and palliative care clinicians must work together to reduce the use of “end-of-life chemotherapy”—chemotherapy given close to death, which does not improve longevity or symptom control—while optimizing the use of chemotherapy that has true palliative benefits for patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Roeland and LeBlanc. 2016