Longitudinal Assessment of Prognostic Understanding in Advanced Lung Cancer Patients and Its Association with Their Psychological Distress

CONCLUSION: While substantial proportions of advanced lung cancer patients had inaccurate prognostic understanding from the time of diagnosis over time, patients with consistently accurate prognostic understanding experienced greater psychological burden. Our findings highlight the importance of continuous psychological care and support for patients that understand their severe prognosis accurately.IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study demonstrated that approximately 20% of patients with advanced lung cancer had inaccurate understanding about their prognosis not only at the time of diagnosis but also at the later time points. Being consistently accurate in prognostic understanding was significantly associated with elevated levels of psychological distress. While accurate prognostic understanding is essential for decision making for treatment and advance care planning, health care providers should be aware of psychological burdens in patients that accept their severe prognosis accurately. Appropriate care and support for such patients are warranted from diagnosis over time.PMID:34510654 | DOI:10.1002/onco.13973

Source: The Oncologist - September 12, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Daisuke Arai Takashi Sato Ichiro Nakachi Daisuke Fujisawa Mari Takeuchi Yasunori Sato Ichiro Kawada Hiroyuki Yasuda Shinnosuke Ikemura Hideki Terai Shigenari Nukaga Takashi Inoue Morio Nakamura Yoshitaka Oyamada Takeshi Terashima Koichi Sayama Fumitake Sa Source Type: research