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Updated: Jun 24, 2025

Author Spotlight: Understanding Cytokine-Induced Cell Death in Intestinal Epithelial Cells Using Human Organoids
Published on: August 2, 2024
[The oncologist, death and the pharmakon]
1Service d'oncologie médicale, GH Diaconesses Croix Saint-Simon, Paris, France.
Abstract:
THE ONCOLOGIST, DEATH AND THE PHARMAKON. Stopping chemotherapy for patients treated in oncology is a difficult moment, feared by oncologists because it is often associated with abandonment or even failure in front of a resistant or aggressive disease. End-of-life chemotherapy is still common in oncology departments. However, it will be harmful if it causes side effects which alter the quality of life of patients or even hasten their death. But above all, this chemotherapy delays the implementation of appropriate palliative care support. Questioning the risk of hubris (excess) in some treatment, asking the relationship between the patient and his death, and prioritizing the quality of last moments is essential to best support patients on the path to the end o f life.
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