End-of-life decision-making of terminally ill cancer patients in a tertiary cancer center in Shanghai, China

Different countries have various decision-making practices, which are formalized according to laws, rules, traditions, religious beliefs, and ethical views of different cultural backgrounds. We investigated the characteristics and factors associated with the decision-making details in terminally ill cancer patients in a tertiary cancer center in Shanghai, China. A single center, retrospective study was performed among advanced cancer patients who died between March 2007 and December 2013 in ward at Palliative Care Unit, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Of 436 patients' end-of-life (EOL) discussions, 424 (97.2 %) occurred between family caregivers and physicians. The main decision-maker was in the following order: spouse (45.6 %), offsprings (44.3 %), parents (3.2 %), son-/daughter-in-law (1.8 %), and relatives (1.4 %). Two hundred twenty-one (47.3 %) patients received at least one of six life-sustaining treatments. One hundred eighty-four (40.4 %) patients continued artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) until death. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed in 26 patients (6.0 %). Two hundred fourteen (49.1 %) patients received vasopressors before death. Only two patients received mechanical ventilation and only one patient received tracheostomy. The median time interval since the decision made till death was 20.17 h (95 % CI = 18.94-21.40, range 4.3 to 70.2 h). Patients who were older than 65 years old were less likely to undergo an intensive procedure (AOR = 0.559, 95 % CI = 0.367-0.852, p = 0.007). Patients living in urban settings (AOR = 2.177, 95 % CI = 1.398-3.390, p = 0.001) were more likely to undergo an intensive procedure in the EOL period. This study reflected some Chinese characteristics for decision-making at the end of life among advanced cancer patients. More prospective studies focused on specific EOL issues are required to improve the quality of EOL care.