Palliative care initiated more than 30 days before death in patients with advanced breast cancer resulted in less chemotherapy use in the last month of life. Data from 340 patients who died from metastatic breast cancer were analyzed, showing that early initiation of palliative care reduced aggressive treatment at the end of life. The study found that dependency status, timing of the first palliative care visit, and time from metastasis to death were predictors for receiving chemotherapy in the last month of life. The study’s main limitation was a smaller sample size than originally planned. The researchers concluded that early palliative care management can reduce unnecessary treatment at the end of life.
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Earlier Palliative Care Reduces Chemotherapy Use at End of Life in Breast Cancer
