Chemotherapy use near the end-of-life in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Introduction Very few data are available regarding the use of chemotherapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) near the end-of-life, i.e., the final month. The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of its use in two different European geographic areas (Sweden and Greece). Materials and methods We retrospectively collected data regarding clinicopathologic characteristics, survival, and use of chemotherapy during the final 30 days of life using two sources: for the Swedish cohort, patients who were diagnosed with MBC in 2010–2015 were identified from the Stockholm-Gotland population-based Breast Cancer Registry and treatment data were collected using hospital charts. For the Greek cohort, patients with MBC were identified from hospital charts at two hospitals in Athens and Crete. Results In the Swedish cohort, 1571 patients were identified; median overall survival was 16.96 months (95% CI 15.4–18.4). 23.2% of patients were treated with chemotherapy during the final month of life, with higher rates among patients ≤ 60 years ( p