What is it about?
Pharmacotherapy is the standard treatment for patients with metastatic or locally advanced urogenital cancers. It can prolong survival or improve symptoms; however, it is not usually curative and may cause adverse effects which lead to the deterioration of the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, it is important to decide on the course of treatment in consideration of the patient's perception and expectations. Recently, new agents have been developed and they provide several treatment options and extended treatment periods. In this study, we examined patients’ perception and expectations over the course of pharmacotherapy.
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Why is it important?
The percentage of patients who accurately perceived the objective of pharmacotherapy increased over the course of pharmacotherapy. The rate of patients who were willing to receive treatment and try other treatments when the standard treatment became too difficult to continue remained consistently high.
Perspectives
The present study showed that there may be discrepancy in the perception of non-curative pharmacotherapy between patients and physicians, and that patients are willing to continue treatment beyond the 1st line therapy. Patient involvement in decision-making for cancer treatment has been shown to improve patients’ quality of life, physical functioning, and patient satisfaction. In order to continue pharmacotherapy for the patient’s benefit, it is important for physicians to share the treatment goal and grasp the patient’s desire.
Takahito Negishi
National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer Center
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Change of genitourinary cancer patients’ perception and expectations over the course of pharmacotherapy, PLoS ONE, November 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278039.
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