Trial reportPsycho-oncology2021
Stronger therapeutic alliance is associated with better quality of life among patients with advanced cancer.
Trial report in Psycho-oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06828003 (A Remotely-Delivered Resistance Training Program for Cognitive Function in Men Living With and Beyond Prostate Cancer), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers.
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.
A Remotely-Delivered Resistance Training Program for Cognitive Function in Men Living With and Beyond Prostate Cancer: A Feasibility Study
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Associations of Health Care Utilization and Therapeutic Alliance in Patients with Advanced Cancer.Journal of palliative medicine · 2024Trial
- "I felt so seen": Perspectives on age-appropriate, needs-based survivorship care among young adult survivors of childhood, adolescent, or young adult cancers (CAYA).Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Identifying physicians' views on compassionate care in daily clinical practice: a multicentre Q-methodology study in Belgium.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Obliged to fight? Patient moral processes in the face of poor prognosis cancer.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2025Article
- Talking about desire to die: Talking past each other? A framework analysis of interview triads with patients, informal caregivers, and health professionals.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- Perceptions of Patient-Clinician Communication Among Adults With and Without Serious Illness.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Measuring the quality of patient-provider relationships in serious illness: A scoping review.Palliative medicine · 2025Article
- Gender disparities in extreme psychological distress at cancer diagnosis and patients access to psycho-oncological care.Irish journal of medical science · 2025Article
- The trajectory of prognostic cognition in patients with advanced cancer: is the traditional advance care planning approach desirable for patients?Japanese journal of clinical oncology · 2024Review
- Elements of End-of-Life Discussions Associated With Patients' Reported Outcomes and Actual End-of-Life Care in Patients With Pretreated Lung Cancer.The oncologist · 2024Observational
- Concordance in the healthcare context: A concept analysis.Belitung nursing journal · 2024Article
- What makes the palliative care initial encounter meaningful? A descriptive study with patients with cancer, family carers and palliative care professionals.Palliative medicine · 2023Article
- Patient, Caregiver, and Clinician Perspectives on Core Components of Therapeutic Alliance for Adolescents and Young Adults With Advanced Cancer: A Qualitative Study.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- What are We Asking Patients to Do? A Critical Ethical Review of the Limits of Patient Self-Advocacy in the Oncology Setting.The New bioethics : a multidisciplinary journal of biotechnology and the body · 2023Article
- The Relationship between Therapeutic Alliance and Quality of Care in Patients with Advanced Cancer in Spain.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Article
- Patient-Oncologist Therapeutic Alliance Among Young Adults with Cancer: Relationships with Meaning and Peace of Mind.Journal of adolescent and young adult oncology · 2022Article
- From "Cure" to "Care": The Role of the MultiDisciplinary Team on Colorectal Cancer Patients' Satisfaction and Oncological Outcomes.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2022Article
- Positive Association Between Therapeutic Alliance and Quality of Life in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy: The Patient's Perspective.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePatient-oncologist therapeutic alliance is a foundation of quality cancer care, although there is limited research demonstrating its relationship with patient outcomes. We investigated the relationship between therapeutic alliance and patient quality of life with a secondary goal of determining whether the association varied by patients' baseline level of psychological distress.
methodsCross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized clinical trial of 672 patients with advanced cancer participating in a primary palliative care intervention trial. Patients completed baseline self-reported measures of therapeutic alliance (The Human Connection Scale, range: 16-64), overall quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Palliative Care, range: 0-184), and psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, range: 0-42). First, we determined the relationship between therapeutic alliance and quality of life using multivariable regression adjusting for confounders. We then examined if psychological distress was an effect modifier in this relationship by adding interaction effects of depression and anxiety symptoms on therapeutic alliance into the regression model.
resultsPatients reported high levels of therapeutic alliance (56.4 ± 7.4) and moderate quality of life (130.3 ± 25.5). Stronger therapeutic alliance was associated with better quality of life after adjusting for other confounding factors (β = 3.7, 95% confidence interval = 2.1, 5.3, p < 0.01). The relationship between therapeutic alliance and quality of life was generally consistent regardless of psychological distress.
conclusionsCollaborative, trusting relationships between patients with advanced cancer and their oncologists are associated with better patient quality of life. Future research should investigate the causal, longitudinal nature of these relationships.
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