Abstract
To assess the intensity of and changes in diagnostic investigations and treatment in the terminal stages of breast cancer 555 patients in the area of Tampere University Central Hospital in whom breast cancer had been diagnosed from 1977 to 1980 were followed up for five years. The case notes for the last visit of 519 patients were analysed. The amount of diagnostic activity was similar for those who died and for the survivors. A higher proportion of women who died than of women who survived received treatment at the last follow up visit, and 2.6 times as many of those dying within one week of the last visit were given chemotherapy as were survivors with recurrent disease. Resources devoted to diagnostic investigations and treatment of cancer in terminally ill patients could be better used for care of the patients. This would be more likely to improve the patients' quality of life and conserve resources.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bonadonna G., Valagussa P. Chemotherapy of breast cancer: current views and results. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1983 Mar;9(3):279–297. doi: 10.1016/0360-3016(83)90286-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Patel J. K., Nemoto T., Vezeridis M., Petrelli N., Suh O., Dao T. L. Does more intense palliative treatment improve overall survival in metastatic breast cancer patients? Cancer. 1986 Feb 1;57(3):567–570. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19860201)57:3<567::aid-cncr2820570328>3.0.co;2-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Powles T. J., Coombes R. C., Smith I. E., Jones J. M., Ford H. T., Gazet J. C. Failure of chemotherapy to prolong survival in a group of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet. 1980 Mar 15;1(8168 Pt 1):580–582. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(80)91066-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Timothy A. R., Brewin T., Chamberlain J., Horwich A., Jennett B., Kind P., Maxwell R., Raftery J., Rees G., Selby P. Cost versus benefit in non-surgical management of patients with cancer. BMJ. 1988 Aug 13;297(6646):471–472. doi: 10.1136/bmj.297.6646.471. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Todd M., Shoag M., Cadman E. Survival of women with metastatic breast cancer at Yale from 1920 to 1980. J Clin Oncol. 1983 Jun;1(6):406–408. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1983.1.6.406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]