Yuko Kawasaki

(1) Background: The number of patients with cancer undergoing cancer genome profiling is increasing; however, it remains unclear how accurately they understand the details of the tests and treatments. This study aimed to clarify the awareness of cancer genome profiling tests among patients with cancer who visited cancer genome medical clinics. (2) Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted on awareness, anxiety, sources of information, and psychological states concerning cancer genome profiling tests. (3) Results: In total, 265 patients with cancer (117 men, 142 women, 6 no response, average age of 58.29 ± 11.9 years) were included in the study, of which 218 (82.3%) were aware of the term "cancer genomic medicine" and 90 (34.0%) were aware of its details. Thus, only a few respondents understood that cancer genome profiling tests facilitate the discovery of secondary findings and of genes associated with hereditary tumors. Regarding their psychological state when visiting the cancer genome clinic, the respondents were anxious about standard treatment and prognosis limits. (4) Conclusions: From the viewpoint of advance care planning, we suggest that medical professionals build a support system that links palliative care and cancer treatment and coordinates genetic counseling at an early stage.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Patients diagnosed with cancer are expected to choose one or more treatment modalities after receiving corresponding explanations of the options. When making these choices, patients consider the effects of treatment and aspects related to their quality of life. These concerns can cause confusion and conflict owing to the complicated information provided by medical caregivers. The objective of the study was to identify perceptions of cancer treatment in patients with cancer and the decision-making factors affecting their treatment choices. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this observational (cross-sectional) study, an online questionnaire survey was administered to 194 Japanese cancer patients with treatment experience. Patient information, perceptions of explanations provided by healthcare professionals, treatment views, and reasons for treatment decisions were subjected to a simple tabulation. Content and factor analysis was conducted to determine important treatment selection elements. RESULTS: Regarding treatment perception, 60.3% of respondents (n=117) considered treatment a financial and family burden, 47.4% (n=92) had concerns about physical pain, and 40.2% (n=78) were worried about increased stress. Regarding decision-making quality, 95.9% determined their preferred treatment within one week, 49.0% reported difficulties in making their decisions, and 83.0% chose their treatment themselves. Major decisive factors were prolonging life, opinions of medical staff, and accepting treatment risks (68.0%, 68.6%, and 60.3% of patients, respectively). The main attitudes toward treatment were anxiety, expectations of benefit, and expectations of support and care. CONCLUSION: SDM should enable patients to visualize the changes that their bodies will experience and include discussions on prognosis. Psychological care should be prioritized to alleviate anxiety and improve readiness for decision-making; attention should be paid to the extent and timing of information provision.

Background: We investigated factors involved in decision-making support provided by physicians, nurses, pharmacists and medical and psychiatric social workers involved in cancer care. Materials & methods: A questionnaire survey on decision-making support was conducted. The level of clinician support was classified as 'supporting patients' 'decision-making process regarding cancer treatment', 'no support for patients' 'decision-making process regarding cancer treatment' or 'team-based support for patients' 'decision-making process regarding cancer treatment'. Results: Physicians estimated that 83.7% of patients made a cancer treatment decision within 1 week, but 45.4% of patients had difficulty making a decision. Conclusion: Medical personnel should support patients who have difficulty making decisions, establish a screening method to identify those needing support and develop a system providing decision-making support through interprofessional work.