ArticleBMC palliative care2019
Impact of palliative chemotherapy and best supportive care on overall survival and length of hospitalization in patients with incurable Cancer: a 4-year single institution experience in Japan.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Results of the feasibility study of clinical trials of the new cancer treatment technology Karanahan for patients with advanced breast cancer.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Examining inpatient chemotherapy utilization among patients with cancer and impact on outcomes.The oncologist · 2025Article
- Clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer of unknown primary: a multi-center retrospective study.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Impact of Waiting Times on Mortality in Advanced Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study in Thailand.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2023Article
- The survival impact of palliative chemotherapy dose modifications on metastatic colon cancer.BMC cancer · 2022Article
- Analysis of Prognostic Factors and Treatment Modes of Patients with Recurrent Endometrial Carcinoma.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Article
- Clinical significance of the G8 screening tool in elderly patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.Clinical oral investigations · 2020Article
- Functional performance and 30-day postoperative mortality after emergency laparotomy-a retrospective, multicenter, observational cohort study of 1084 patients.Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study aimed to analyze the determinants of patients' choice between palliative chemotherapy and best supportive care (BSC) and to investigate how this choice affects overall survival (OS) and length of hospitalization according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS).
methodsAn oncologist explained the palliative chemotherapy and BSC options to 129 patients with incurable cancer during their first consultation. Data on the ECOG PS, treatment decision, OS, and the length of hospitalization were retrospectively collected over 4 years.
resultsPatients with an ECOG PS of 0-2 chose palliative chemotherapy more often than those with an ECOG PS of 3-4 (P < 0.01). Patients with ≤70 years chose palliative chemotherapy more often than those with > 70 (P < 0.05). And patients with gastric cancer and colon cancer chose palliative chemotherapy more often than those with CUP (carcinoma of unknown primary) (P < 0.05, P < 0.05 respectively). Factors associated with a significantly poorer OS in an adjusted analysis included the ECOG PS and treatment decision (hazard ratios: 0.18 and 0.43; P < 0.001, P < 0.01 respectively). In patients with an ECOG PS of 0-2, palliative chemotherapy was not associated with a longer OS compared with BSC (median OS: 14.5 vs. 6.8 months, respectively; P = 0.144). In patients with an ECOG PS of 3-4, palliative chemotherapy resulted in a significant survival gain compared to with BSC (median OS: 3.8 vs. 1.4 months, respectively; P < 0.05). Strong positive correlations between OS and the length of hospitalization were observed in patients with an ECOG PS of 3-4 who underwent palliative chemotherapy (r
conclusionsThe determinants for treatment choice were age, ECOG PS and type of cancer, not sex difference. Oncologists should explain to patients that OS and the length of hospitalization vary according to the ECOG PS when selecting between palliative chemotherapy and BSC.
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