ArticleBritish journal of cancer2018
End-of-life decision-making across cancer types: results from a nationwide retrospective survey among treating physicians.
Article in British journal of cancer, 2018. 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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Choice and Death: Analysis of Medical Assistance in Dying for Head and Neck Cancer in Ontario.The Laryngoscope · 2026Article
- Scoping review of anticancer drug utilization in lung cancer patients at the end of life.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025Article
- Article
- Medical Assistance in Dying in Oncology Patients: A Canadian Academic Hospital's Experience.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Article
- Article
- End-of-life decision making in the context of chronic life-limiting disease: a concept analysis and conceptual model.Nursing outlookArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe treatment of advanced cancer often involves potentially life-shortening end-of-life decisions (ELDs). This study aimed to examine the prevalence and characteristics of ELDs in different cancer types.
methodsA nationwide death certificate study was conducted based on a large random sample of all deaths in Flanders, Belgium, between 1 January and 30 June 2013. All cancer deaths were selected (n = 2392). Attending physicians were sent a questionnaire about ELDs and the preceding decision-making process.
resultsThe response rate was 58.3%. Across cancer types, a non-treatment decision occurred in 7.6-14.0%, intensified pain and symptom alleviation in 37.5-41.7%, euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide in 8.7-12.6%, and life shortening without explicit patient request in 1.0-2.4%. ELD prevalence did not differ significantly by cancer type. Reasons for ELDs were most frequently patient's physical suffering and lack of prospect of improvement. 'Anticipated further suffering' and 'unbearable situation for relatives' were reasons more often reported in haematological cancer than in other cancer types. Patient, family, and caregiver involvement in decision-making did not differ across cancer types.
conclusionsEuthanasia or physician-assisted suicide rates were relatively high in all cancer types. Neither the prevalence of ELDs nor characteristics of the decision-making process differed substantially between cancer types. This indicates a uniform approach to end-of-life care, including palliative care, across oncological settings.
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