ArticleJournal of pain and symptom management2017
Impact of Radiation Therapy on Aggressive Care and Quality of Life Near Death.
Article in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Futile Radiotherapy for Patients With Cancer Near the End of Life.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- The challenge of sustainability in healthcare systems: cost of radiotherapy in the last month of life in an Italian cancer center.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Article
- Conceptualizing and Counting Discretionary Utilization in the Final 100 Days of Life: A Scoping Review.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2020Article
- Hospice care, cancer-directed therapy, and Medicare expenditures among older patients dying with malignant brain tumors.Neuro-oncology · 2018Article
- Metastatic Osseous Pain Control: Radiation Therapy.Seminars in interventional radiology · 2017Review
- Reply to Serin et al.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
contextRadiation therapy (RT) is used with palliative intent in patients with advanced stage cancer. Prior studies, primarily in patients with poor performance status (PS), suggest that RT is associated with aggressive medical care, which may impact patients' quality of life near death (QoD) adversely.
objectiveThis study examines associations between RT use and patients' receipt of aggressive care and QoD based on patients' PS.
methodsThis is a multi-institutional, prospective cohort study of patients with end-stage cancers (N = 312) who were identified as terminally ill at study enrollment. RT use (n = 24; 7.7%) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS were assessed at study entry (median = 3.8 months before death). Aggressive care near death was operationalized as use of mechanical ventilation and/or resuscitation in the last week of life. QoD was determined using validated caregiver ratings of patients' physical and mental distress in their final week.
resultsRT use was associated with higher QoD (8/8, 100.0%, vs. 58/114, 50.9%; P = 0.006) among patients with good PS (ECOG = 1), more aggressive care near death (3/9, 33.3%, vs. 6/107, 5.6%; P = 0.020) among patients with moderate PS (ECOG = 2), and lower QoD (1/7, 14.3%, vs. 28/51, 54.9%; P = 0.046) among patients with poor PS (ECOG = 3).
conclusionsTargeted use of RT in end-of-life cancer care may benefit patients with good PS, but its use may adversely affect patients with poorer PS. Decisions about RT use in this setting should consider likely end-of-life outcomes based on patients' current PS.
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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.