ArticleBMC palliative care2016
Palliative chemotherapy: oxymoron or misunderstanding?
Article in BMC palliative care, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effects of enteral tube feeding on nutrition, survival, and quality of life outcomes in advanced upper gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic literature review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Pooled it
- The ALLAN trial: impact of early home-based palliative care on emergency care and hospitalisation in advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients.British journal of cancer · 2026Trial
- Effects of a Geriatric Assessment Intervention on Patient-Reported Symptomatic Toxicity in Older Adults With Advanced Cancer.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2023Trial
- Implementation of artificial intelligence in palliative and supportive care for people with cancer: A scoping review.Palliative medicine · 2026Article
- First impressions: A prospective evaluation of patient-physician concordance and satisfaction following the initial medical oncology consultation.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- Understanding how shared decision-making approaches and patient aids influence patients with advanced cancer when deciding on palliative treatments and care: A realist review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2023Review
- Symptoms of total pain experienced by older people with advanced gastrointestinal cancer receiving palliative chemotherapy.European journal of cancer care · 2022Article
- Clostridium difficile Infection During Palliative Capecitabine Chemotherapy: A Case Report.Cureus · 2022Article
- A prognostic model using the neutrophil-albumin ratio and PG-SGA to predict overall survival in advanced palliative lung cancer.BMC palliative care · 2022Article
- End-of-Life Care in Patients with Cancer 16-24 Years of Age.Current oncology reports · 2022Review
- Article
- Chemotherapy basics for family physicians.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2022Article
- Plant-Derived Lectins as Potential Cancer Therapeutics and Diagnostic Tools.BioMed research international · 2020Review
- Inpatient palliative chemotherapy is associated with high mortality and aggressive end-of-life care in patients with advanced solid tumors and poor performance status.BMC palliative care · 2019Article
- Symptom clusters during palliative chemotherapy and their influence on functioning and quality of life.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2017Article
- Specialized Palliative Care and the Quality of Life for Hospitalized Cancer Patients at a Low-Resource Hospital in India.Indian journal of palliative careArticle
- Palliative Chemotherapy: The Perspectives and Experiences of South African Nurses.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursingArticle
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2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.