Prognosis test revealed for patients with advanced cancer
Monday December 19th, 2016
A blood test developed in Japan could help establish how long patients with very advanced cancer have to live, a European conference has heard.
Developers say the test will help doctors and patients decide whether to use palliative chemotherapy.
The Japanese researchers reported their findings at the Asia conference of the European Society of Medical Oncology in Singapore yesterday.
They tested the benefits of the six adaptable prognostic model test already developed in Kyoto, Japan.
This uses three laboratory measurements to indicate a patient's prognosis. These are measures of albumin, neutrophil and lactate dehydrogenase.
Applied to patients receiving palliative care, the prediction was accurate for 75 to 80% of them, the researchers reported. The analysis involved about 1,000 patients.
Researcher Dr Yu Uneno, of Kyoto University, said: “Patients with advanced cancer and their families have to make decisions about treatment, where to spend the end-of-life, and when to discontinue palliative chemotherapy.
"Continuing ineffective therapy increases life-threatening adverse events, reduces quality of life, delays hospice referral, and deprives patients of the chance to die in their preferred place. Accurately predicting prognosis improves end-of-life care for cancer patients and their caregivers.”
Speaking about the findings, Dr Grace Yang, a palliative medicine specialist at the National Cancer Centre, Singapore, said: "Cancer patients may have aggressive treatment until the very last days of life, not without physical symptoms and great financial cost. Information about a cancer patient’s prognosis will help weigh the benefits and burdens of further cancer-directed treatment.
“Knowing the patient’s prognosis will facilitate decision making regarding trade-offs, not only for anti-cancer therapy, but for treatments directed at relieving symptoms."
Abstract 484O_PR: Validation of the set of six adaptable prognosis prediction (SAP) models for cancer patients in palliative care settings: A sub analysis of the Japan-prognostic assessment tools validation (J-ProVal) study.
Tags: Asia | Cancer | Pain Relief | Pharmaceuticals
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