ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2024
Parent and oncologist perspectives on prognostic disclosure in advanced childhood cancer: communication pearls and pitfalls.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Parental hope in paediatric palliative care: a systematic review of the ethical issues in evidence-based literature.BMC medical ethics · 2026Pooled it
- Iranian Nurses' Experiences of Moral Distress in Paediatric Wards: A Qualitative Study.Nursing open · 2026Article
- Shifting sands: How parents engage with the idea of their child's death.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- Planting seeds for seasons ahead: Communication strategies for prognostic disclosure in pediatric neuro-oncology.Neuro-oncology practice · 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
- "We Were Still Left in the Back Field, Not Knowing": Pediatric Cancer Patients and Parents Describe Obstacles to Prognostic Communication.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeFor children with advanced cancer and their families, communication about prognosis is critical. Unfortunately, data demonstrate that prognostic communication occurs infrequently and inconsistently across advancing illness. Prior to developing an intervention to improve prognostic communication, we aimed to (1) characterize parent and oncologist perspectives on "best" approaches for prognostic communication, and (2) explore similarities and differences between parent and oncologist perspectives.
methodsChildren with poor-prognosis solid tumors, their parents, and oncologists were followed prospectively for 24 months or until death. Matched semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents and oncologists 0-7 days after medical encounters at timepoints of disease progression or relapse. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to describe parent and oncologist impressions of communication quality.
resultsA total of 68 interviews were conducted following serial disease reevaluation encounters involving 13 parents and five oncologists. Nine main themes were identified as "best" approaches: (1) speaking with honesty and clarity, (2) leaving room for hope, (3) leaning into a long-standing relationship, (4) personalizing language, (5) empowering the patient and family, (6) collaborating with the multidisciplinary team, (7) providing anticipatory guidance, (8) setting the scene, and (9) creating a therapeutic space. Parents and oncologists generally agreed on themes related to helpful communication approaches, while parents more explicitly described communication pitfalls.
conclusionParents and oncologists described clear recommendations for helpful communication strategies and pitfalls to avoid during difficult prognostic disclosure. Future work should integrate patient perspectives in the design and testing of an intervention to improve prognostic communication in advanced childhood cancer.
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