• Young Ho Yun, Miyoung Kwak, Sang Min Park, Samyong Kim, Jong Soo Choi, Ho-Yeong Lim, Chang Geol Lee, Youn Seon Choi, Young Seon Hong, Si-Young Kim, and Dae Seog Heo.
• Quality of Cancer Care Branch, Research Institute for National Cancer Control and Evaluation, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
• Oncology. 2007 Jan 1; 72 (3-4): 164-71.

ObjectivesWe investigated the frequency of chemotherapy use and its associated factors in patients in all age groups in the last year of life.MethodsWe identified cancer patients who died in 2004 in any of 17 hospitals. We used demographic and treatment characteristics by computerized hospital information systems and by linking the identification numbers to the 2004 death registry.Results48.7% of patients in the last 6 months of life, 43.9% in the last 3 months, and 30.9% in the last month of life received chemotherapy. The frequency of chemotherapy use was lower for older patients. In those > or =65 years old, there was no difference between women and men in the proportion that received chemotherapy. For patients <65 years of age, a larger proportion of women than men received chemotherapy, and chemotherapy use was significantly less frequent for patients with refractory disease than for those with responsive disease. Patients dying at a relatively small hospital without a hospice inpatient unit were significantly more likely to receive chemotherapy.ConclusionsDespite the fact that most cancer patients are resistant to chemotherapy at the end of life, it was administered often to all age groups.(c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

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