[Role of palliative chemotherapy and shift from anticancer therapy to palliative care in patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer].
We examined the role of palliative chemotherapy and the shift from anticancer therapy to palliative care in 30 patients who had died of advanced or recurrent breast cancer. Patients who received more than four chemotherapy regimens had a longer survival and started analgesics later than those who received less than three regimens. In addition, median survival time was prolonged in patients treated with both anthracycline- and taxane-containing regimens. Presence of bone metastases did not influence survival time, but extended the period of last hospitalization. In the average process of advanced or recurrent breast cancer, use of analgesics was started on the 500 th day and the last hospitalization was on the 760 th day from the diagnosis. Last chemotherapy was performed 29 days before death, and the median survival length was 811 days. Patients were treated as outpatients in 94% of the period from their recurrence until death. Therefore, it is especially important to support outpatients physically and mentally from the early stage of recurrence.
Yamaguchi
Yumi
Y
Department of Surgery, Tottori Red Cross Hospital, Japan.
Ohro
Shoutaro
S
Yamashiro
Yutaka
Y
Shibata
Shunsuke
S
Ishiguro
Minoru
M
Yurugi
Eiichi
E
Nishidoi
Hideaki
H
Kudo
Hirofumi
H
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018943:Anthracyclines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D010166:Palliative Care; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage
D000700:Analgesics; D018943:Anthracyclines; D043823:Taxoids