ArticleBMJ supportive & palliative care2025
Cancer patients' awareness of extent of disease: anxiety, depression, quality of life.
Article in BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn Asian cultures, the belief that full disclosure would harm the patient's health would lead to non-disclosure. The study aimed to determine whether making patients aware of the extent of their disease will lead to psychological morbidity and poor quality of life (QOL).
methodsThis was a cross-sectional study among 195 patients with stage 4 cancer who were aware of their cancer diagnosis at the medical oncology, radiation oncology and palliative care units at an academic cancer centre. Participants were asked about their cancer stage, treatment goal and if they prefer to know their life expectancy. They answered the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and 27-item validated Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General questionnaires. Determination of the association of patients' awareness of the extent of the disease with psychological status and QOL was analysed using univariate and multivariate statistics.
resultsAbout three-fourths of patients with cancer knew they had an advanced disease, but very few were aware that the current treatments they were taking for their cancer would not cure them. No association between awareness of the extent of the disease and psychological morbidity was found. Still, those aware of the advanced disease had significantly higher QOL scores for social well-being.
conclusionsThis study revealed that physicians should not hesitate to communicate the cancer diagnosis and prognosis to patients, as the disclosure was not associated with psychological morbidity. Open communication between physicians, patients and their families on the extent of the disease could empower patients to make informed decisions about their treatment, engage in advance care planning and seek the necessary support.
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