Chemotherapy may be overused at the end of life

Many patients with cancer receive chemotherapy at the end of life, even if their kind of cancer is known to be unresponsive to the drugs, according to a study reported at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists held in San Francisco.

The finding “strongly suggests overuse of chemotherapy at the end of life,” lead author Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the department of clinical bioethics at the US National Institutes of Health, told delegates. “Many are concerned with the quality of end of life care and specifically that patients …