Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting

Factors associated with preference of communication about life expectancy with physicians among cancer patients under radiation therapy (#471)

Megumi Uchida 1 , Chikao Sugie 2 , Michio Yoshimura 3 , Eiji Suzuki 4 , Yuuta Shibamoto 2 , Masahiro Hiraoka 3 , Tatsuo Akechi 1 5
  1. Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
  2. Department of radiology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, JAPAN
  3. Department of radiation Oncology and Image-Applied Therapy, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine , Kyoto, JAPAN
  4. Department of Breast Surgery, Kyoto University Graduate school of medicine, Kyoto, JAPAN
  5. Division of Palliative Care and Psycho-oncology, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Aim:

The aim of this study is to investigate factors associated with preference of communication about life expectancy with physicians (whether want to share information about life expectancy with physicians or not) among cancer patients under radiation therapy.  

Methods:

 Cancer patients aged twenty years or older were consecutively sampled when they started radiation therapy at two university hospitals. The patients were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires assessing both patient’s and medical staff’s factors. Patient’s factors contained their preference whether to share information about life expectancy with doctors or not, their preference in treatment decision making (leave it to doctors or not), psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: HADS), physical distress (M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory: MDASI), quality of life (EuroQol five-dimensional: EQ-5D) and sociodemographic and medical factors. Medical staff’s factors involved actual level of cancer care received (e.g., communication style of physicians, symptom management).

Results:

　Two hundred and twenty-six patients answered about their preference of communication about life expectancy. (Response rate: 58%) 45% of the participant wished to share information about their life expectancy with physicians. Eighty-five percent of the participants recognized their aim of radiation therapy as cure. Univariate analysis indicated that employment status (full or part time) and patient’s preference of treatment decision making (leave it to doctors) were associated with communication about life expectancy. A multiple regression analysis revealed that only employment status (full or part time) was significantly associated with preference of communication about life expectancy.

Conclusions:

There was a significant association between employment status and patient’s preference of communication about life expectancy with physicians. This indicates that it is better for physicians to discuss life expectancy with cancer patients if they continue to work after their cancer diagnosis.