ArticleBMC cancer2022
Oncologist approaches to communicating uncertain disease status in pediatric cancer: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Illness Uncertainty and Coping Strategies Among Families of Children with Cancer in China: A Family-Centered Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Shifting sands: How parents engage with the idea of their child's death.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- Parent Experiences Accessing Inpatient Clinical Notes on a Pediatric Oncology Service.Hospital pediatrics · 2026Article
- Managing Conflicting Prognostic Communication Preferences in Pediatric Oncology.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Hope and Uncertainty in Prognostic Discussions.Pediatrics · 2026Article
- Healthcare professionals' perspectives on disclosure of diagnosis and related issues in childhood cancer: A mixed methods systematic review.International journal of nursing sciences · 2026Review
- Spiritual Communication Between Pediatric Oncologists, Caregivers, and Patients With Brain Tumors.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2025Observational
- The implementation and strategy of triadic communication in pediatric oncology: a scoping review.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- "We Were Still Left in the Back Field, Not Knowing": Pediatric Cancer Patients and Parents Describe Obstacles to Prognostic Communication.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
- Preferences for Communication About Prognosis Among Children With Cancer, Parents, and Oncologists.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Patient, Parent, and Oncologist Perspectives and Recommendations on the Right Way to Talk About Prognosis in Advanced Childhood Cancer.JCO oncology practice · 2025Article
- Parent and oncologist perspectives on prognostic disclosure in advanced childhood cancer: communication pearls and pitfalls.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- Article
- Prognosis Communication in Pediatric Oncology: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Managing Prognosis in Precision Medicine: Utility, Imagination, and Communication.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost patients with cancer and their caregivers desire honest, clear prognostic communication, yet oncologists often disclose prognosis inconsistently. Prognostic communication becomes even more challenging when disease progression is unclear or equivocal. Presently, oncologist approaches for discussing uncertain disease findings are poorly understood.
methodsIn this prospective, longitudinal study, we audio-recorded serial disease reevaluation conversations between children with high-risk cancer, their families, and their primary oncologists over 24 months and conducted content analysis at recorded timepoints when oncologists categorized disease progression as equivocal.
resultsOf the 265 medical discussions recorded across the illness course for 33 patient-parent dyads, a total of 40 recorded discussions took place at equivocal timepoints, comprising > 500 min of medical dialogue. Prognosis talk encompassed < 3% of dialogue and was absent in nearly half of equivocal discussions (17/40, 42.5%). Curability statements were identified in only two conversations. Inductive content analysis of dialogue revealed four distinct patterns for communicating equivocal disease status: (1) up-front reassurance, (2) softening the message, (3) describing possible disease progression without interpretation, (4) expressing uncertainty without discussing the bigger picture.
conclusionOncologists rarely discuss prognosis with children with high-risk cancer and their families at timepoints when disease progression is not definitive. Formal guidance is needed to better support oncologists in navigating uncertainty while sharing honest, person- and family-centered information about prognosis.
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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.