A research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oncology has unveiled that chemotherapy is not a good option when a person is suffering from end-stage cancer. The researchers said that it would do more harm than good.

In the study, more than 300 patients suffering from metastatic cancer were involved. These patients were the ones whose tumor had crossed the initial stage and has spread into other organs as well and had become incurable.

The study researchers said that around 50% of the patients were taking chemotherapy, a process in which strong chemicals are delivered into the body to destroy cancer cells and reduce the size of tumors.

Chemotherapy has its side effects, including weakness, confusion, hair loss, fatigue and nausea. Main aim of the study was to assess how chemotherapy affected quality of life of patients who were having few months to live.

The researchers particularly focused on factors like ability to walk, do work and taking care of basic needs. Caregivers gave assessment of patients' physical and mental distress in their last week of life and from that the researchers came to know that chemotherapy did not help at all to improve quality of life of patients.

Study's lead researcher Holly Prigerson of Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital said, "Not only did chemotherapy not benefit patients regardless of performance status, it appeared most harmful to those patients with good performance status".