ReviewEcancermedicalscience2019
The role of emotions in cancer patients' decision-making.
Review in Ecancermedicalscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Patient-reported emotional responses and coping mechanisms in cancer recurrence: a systematic review of qualitative evidence.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Pooled it
- The Role of Emotion-Related Abilities in the Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- A meta-analysis on heart rate variability biofeedback and depressive symptoms.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of a Multimedia-Assisted Informed Consent Procedure on the Information Gain of Patients Undergoing Mastectomy and Implant-Based Reconstruction.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Trial
- Patient Reactions to Artificial Intelligence-Clinician Discrepancies: Web-Based Randomized Experiment.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- The Effect of a Surgeon Communication Strategy on Treatment Preference for Thyroid Cancer: A Randomized Trial.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Operating on Anxiety: Negative Affect toward Breast Cancer and Choosing Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2023Trial
- Relationships Between Advanced Cancer Patients' Worry About Dying and Illness Understanding, Treatment Preferences, and Advance Care Planning.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2021Trial
- Comparing the use of Arabic decision aid to usual care. A multicenter randomized controlled trial for Arabic speaking metastatic colorectal cancer patients in Saudi Arabia.Saudi medical journal · 2020Trial
- Thinking, Feeling, Choosing: How Affect Is Reflected in Prostate Cancer Treatment Decision Making-A Qualitative Study.Psycho-oncology · 2026Article
- How Information-Seeking Reduces Cancer Fatalism: A Comparison of the Mediating Role of Risk Perception in Young and Older Adults.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026Article
- Emotion Classification in Japanese Cancer Survivor Interview Narratives Using Sentiment Polarity and Plutchik Emotion Frameworks: Model Development and Evaluation Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- In Silico Psycho-Oncology: Understanding Resilience Pathways in Breast Cancer-Determinants of Longitudinal Depression and Quality-of-Life Trajectories.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- Social Determinants of Health Are Associated With Treatment Receipt and Mortality in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · 2026Article
- Beyond Bleeding, Infection, Damage to Surrounding Structures: Challenges and Opportunities When Communicating about Surgical Risks.Clinics in colon and rectal surgery · 2026Review
- 'I want to be generous, but I only have limited energy': a qualitative study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients' preferences for clinical trials participation.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- In their words: Experience of decision-making in adolescents with cancer - a qualitative meta-synthesis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Acceptance in Patients With Cancer: A Scoping Review.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
- The Dyadic Experience of a New Breast Cancer Diagnosis Into the Shared Decision-Making Process: A Qualitative Analysis.Psycho-oncology · 2025Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionDespite the attempt to make decisions based on evidence, doctors still have to consider patients' choices which often involve other factors. In particular, emotions seem to influence the way that options and the surrounding information are interpreted and used.
objectiveThe objective of the present review is to provide a brief overview of research on decision making and cancer with a specific focus on the role of emotions.
methodThirty-nine studies were identified and analysed. Most of the studies investigated anxiety and fear. Worry was the other psychological factor that, together with anxiety, played a crucial role in cancer-related decision-making.
resultsThe roles of fear, anxiety and worry were described for detection behaviour, diagnosis, choice about prevention and curative treatments and help-seeking behaviour. Results were inconsistent among the studies. Results stressed that cognitive appraisal and emotional arousal (emotion's intensity level) interact in shaping the decision. Moderate levels of anxiety and worry improved decision-making, while low and high levels tended to have no effect or a hindering effect on decision making. Moderating factors played an under-investigated role.
conclusionsDecision making is a complex non-linear process that is affected by several factors, such as, for example, personal knowledge, past experiences, individual differences and certainly emotions. Research studies should investigate further potential moderators of the effect of emotions on cancer-related choice. Big data and machine learning could be a good opportunity to test the interaction between a large amount of factors that is not feasible in traditional research. New technologies such as eHealth and virtual reality can offer support for the regulation of emotions and decision making.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.