Palliative care 2016

Systematic Review of Cancer Presentations with a Median Survival of Six Months or Less Shelley R. Salpeter, M.D., Dawn S. Malter, M.D., Ph.D., Esther J. Luo, M.D.,Albert Y. Lin, M.D., and Brad Stuart, M.D .

Despite different cancer characteristics, a fairly universal picture of terminal disease included : 1- decreasing performance status, 2- advancing age, 3- weight loss,

4- metastatic disease, 5- disease recurrence, 6- laboratory abnormalities indicating extensive disease . Most of these prognostic indicators found were continuous, independent risk factors for mortality. We found little evidence that treatment improved survival at these terminal stages, with increased risk for toxicity. JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE MEDICINE Vol, 15, No 2, 2012