DOI: 10.1097/01.COT.0000269536.36025.12
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Issn Print: 0276-2234
Publication Date: 2007/04/10
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Excerpt
More than one-third of patients surveyed said they would be willing to be treated again with an adjuvant chemotherapy regimen they previously received for even a 1% reduction in the risk of relapse.
But when practicing medical oncologists were surveyed, they predicted that only one-fifth of their patients would agree to be re-treated for a 1% benefit. Those were the findings of the study reported by medical oncologist Neil Love, MD, President of Research to Practice, an oncology education company in Miami.
“At the lower end of the spectrum, oncologists thought fewer patients would want to be treated. Patients may be far more willing to receive cytotoxic therapy for what others, including physicians, might view as modest potential treatment benefits,” he said.
The findings build on a June 2006 survey by the researchers that showed that in order to achieve a modest reduction in relapse risk, oncologists are much more likely to recommend adjuvant chemotherapy for estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer than for colon cancer.
To delve further into attitudes about colorectal cancer, the researchers surveyed 150 colon cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy within the past five years.
After listening to an audio educational program on adjuvant chemotherapy, the survivors were asked whether they would be willing to be re-treated with the same regimen they previously received in order to achieve varying reductions in the risk of recurrence. Then, 150 practicing medical oncologists filled out a corresponding survey.
The study was supported by an education grant from Sanofi-Aventis. The patient participants were also surveyed about their expectations and experiences with adjuvant therapy as well as the quality of care they received.
Of the patients, 36% said they would be choose the same therapy to achieve a 1% absolute reduction in risk of recurrence, 57% would be willing to accept another course for a 3% absolute reduction in risk, and 68% would opt for re-treatment for a 5% reduction in relapse risk.
In contrast, oncologists estimated that only 19% of patients would agree to re-treatment for a 1% benefit, Dr. Love said. They thought 28% would agree for a 3% benefit and that 52% would undergo re-treatment for a 5% benefit.
On the flip side, 88% of patients said they would accept another course of the same chemotherapy for a 10% reduction in relapse risk, he said.
