[Cytostatic therapy in cancer--a SBU report]

A report by The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) has reviewed, classified, and graded the scientific literature on cancer chemotherapy in some major tumor types, described the practice of chemotherapy in Sweden, compared practice with scientific knowledge, and analyzed the costs and cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy. This article summarizes the overall conclusions. The literature on the effects of chemotherapy is extensive. Chemotherapy has a well-documented role in the curative and palliative treatment of patients with several types of cancer. In Sweden, chemotherapy is used largely in keeping with applications documented in the scientific literature.