Introduction
Early-stage colorectal cancer (T1CRC) patients are confronted with complex medical information and considerations throughout the course of their treatment. This study explored patients’ perspective on information provision and therapeutic decision-making.
Aims & Methods
Patients who underwent endoscopic or local surgical resection for T1CRC were eligible for participation in this cross-sectional multicenter study. Information provision was evaluated using the EORTC QLQ-INFO25 questionnaire (INFO25)(1). In patients with a high-risk T1CRC we additionally evaluated patients’ perception of involvement in decision-making regarding the choice to opt for or refrain from additional treatment after local resection, and the degree of decisional conflict using the decision conflict scale (DCS)(2).
Results
In the 98 responders (response rate: 71.5%), patients with high-risk T1CRC (n=45) reported to have received more information on multiple disease aspects compared to patients with low-risk T1CRC (n=53). However, the need for more information was not significantly different between both groups (p=0.31). Overall, 29 patients expressed a need for more information, with ‘prevention’ and ‘post-treatment care’ reported as the most common areas with unmet information needs. Of the 45 patients with high-risk T1CRC, 24 (53.3%) underwent additional treatment, whereas 21 (46.7%) opted for close monitoring. Twenty-seven patients (60%) reported that they were actively involved in this decision (i.e. ‘I made the decision myself’), while 18 patients (40%) reported to be passively involved (i.e. ‘I let my physician make the decision’ or ‘I didn't feel like there was a choice’). Satisfaction scores regarding information provision were similar between patients that underwent additional treatment or opted for close monitoring (range 0-100, 70.8 vs. 73.0, p=0.77). Higher educated patients were more likely to report active involvement in therapeutic decision-making compared to lower educated patients (92.9% vs. 43.3%, p=0.002) and to eventually undergo additional treatment (78.6% vs. 40%, p=0.02). The satisfaction scores regarding how the treatment decision was made did not differ significantly between patients with higher and lower levels of education (range 0-100, 83 vs. 85.1, p=0.78).
Conclusion
From the T1CRC patient’s perspective, this study found that higher educated patients were more likely to be actively involved in therapeutic decision-making than lower educated patients, although decisional satisfaction was irrespective of educational level. With respect to information needs, patients expressed a desire for more information on disease prevention and post-treatment care.
References
1. Arraras JI, Greimel E, Sezer O, Chie W-C, Bergenmar M, Costantini A, et al. An international validation study of the EORTC QLQ-INFO25 questionnaire: An instrument to assess the information given to cancer patients. European Journal of Cancer. 2010;46(15):2726-38.
2. O'Connor AM. Validation of a decisional conflict scale. Med Decis Making. 1995;15(1):25-30.