Approximately half of patients with a diagnosis of primary malignant brain tumor (PMBT) or secondary malignant brain tumor (SMBT) are older than 65 years and experience disproportionate mortality and symptom burden. End-of-life care for patients with terminal cancer is often aggressive, costly, and discordant with patient preferences.¹ However, a lack of knowledge remains about patterns of end-of-life care for the growing population of elderly people with a malignant brain tumor. This study compares hospital-based care and costs in the last 30 days of life for older patients with PMBT and SMBT, identifies potential risk factors for aggressive care, and evaluates the association between aggressive care and cost.

诊断为原发性恶性脑瘤（PMBT）或继发性恶性脑瘤（SMBT）的患者中约有一半年龄超过65岁，死亡率和症状负担不成比例。终末期癌症患者的临终护理通常是激进的，昂贵的并且与患者的喜好不一致。¹然而，对于越来越多的患有恶性脑肿瘤的老年人，临终护理的模式仍然缺乏知识。这项研究比较了PMBT和SMBT老年患者生命最后30天的医院护理和费用，确定了积极护理的潜在风险因素，并评估了积极护理与费用之间的关联。