Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27738795›Full record

ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2017

The role of palliative care in the last month of life in elderly cancer patients.

Tarek Assi, Elie El Rassy, Tony Ibrahim, Tania Moussa, Aline Tohme, Fadi El Karak, Fadi Farhat, Salma Faddoul, Marwan Ghosn, Joseph Kattan

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Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer in elderly patients: a meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Factors associated with the time to first palliative care consultation in Lebanese cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tarek AssiDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon. tarekassi@gmail.com.
Elie El RassyDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Tony IbrahimDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Tania MoussaDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Aline TohmeDepartment of Palliative Care, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Fadi El KarakDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Fadi FarhatDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Salma FaddoulDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Marwan GhosnDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Joseph KattanDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Saint Joseph University · LBHôtel-Dieu de France · LB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionOne major health care issue encountered in elderly cancer patients is the alteration of the quality of life. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the administration of chemotherapy in the last month of life (CLML) and to evaluate the impact of the palliative care consult (PCC) in the elderly patients.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study that included elderly patients diagnosed with an end-stage cancer and who were deceased between the 1st of January 2012 and the 31st of December 2015. Patient medical records were reviewed for patients' characteristics and management during the last month of life.

resultsThis study enrolled 231 patients that fulfilled the eligibility criteria. CLML was administered in 91 patients (39.4 %) among which 43 patients (47.3 %) had their treatment within the last 2 weeks of life. Seventy-seven patients (33.3 %) had a palliative care consult (PCC) with a median duration of follow up of 13 days (range 2-56 days). Overall, PCC failed to decrease CLML administration, the duration of hospitalization, and ICU admissions. However, CLML administration decreased by 69 % among patients that had their PCC before receiving treatment (OR = 0.31; 95 % CI 0.15-0.63). PCC also led to a change in the pattern of treatment administered in the last month of life with less cytotoxic therapy (OR = 0.27 CI 95 % 0.09-0.9, p = 0.02) and higher rates of oral agents being prescribed (OR = 3.8; 95 % CI 1.3-11.3, p = 0.014).

conclusionOur elderly patients seem to receive aggressive management similar to the general oncology population. Early PCC was shown throughout our results to decrease the aggressiveness of cancer treatment in elderly patients which seems to improve the quality of care of our patients.

Indexed as

AgedFemaleHumansMaleNeoplasmsPalliative CareQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesTerminal CareChemotherapy in the last monthElderlyGeriatric oncologyPalliative care

Identifiers

PMID27738795
OpenAlexW2531786107

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.