Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Cost-effectiveness of palliative chemotherapy in advanced gastrointestinal cancer.
Chemotherapy may relieve tumor-related symptoms, may improve quality of life and prolong survival in advanced gastrointestinal cancer. The extent of such improvements is unclear despite the extensive use of this treatment modality, and there are no studies concerning the economic cost of any gain achieved in the quantity and quality of life by chemotherapy. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that palliative chemotherapy is cost-effective in patients with advanced gastric and colorectal cancer. Knowledge about survival and quality of life benefits is still limited in patients suffering from gastric and pancreatic-biliary cancer.