ArticleJournal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi2026
Exploring Factors Influencing Decisions to Withdraw Treatment in Iranian Patients With Metastatic Cancer: A Qualitative Content Analysis Study.
Article in Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis 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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Why Do Cancer Patients Decide to Withdraw Their Treatment? A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis.Cancer medicine · 2026Pooled it
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
Abstract
Objectives: The decision to withdraw treatment in patients with metastatic cancer is a complex and emotionally charged process influenced by multiple interrelated factors. Despite its significant clinical and ethical implications, this phenomenon remains insufficiently explored through qualitative inquiry. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing decisions to withdraw treatment among patients with metastatic cancer. Methods: A qualitative study using conventional content analysis was conducted. Fourteen patients with metastatic cancer were purposively selected. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the qualitative content analysis approach proposed by Graneheim and Lundman. Data organization was facilitated using MAXQDA software. Results: The analysis yielded 1 main theme ("Finding the meaning of life, and freedom from cycles of suffering"), 4 categories, and 15 subcategories. The overarching theme suggests that understanding life's meaning enables patients to situate their illness within a broader existential purpose, thereby affirming life's intrinsic value beyond mere physical survival. The 4 categories were social and family influences, physical health factors, psychological determinants, and divine and spiritual beliefs. Conclusions: This study outlines a multilevel approach to improving end-of-life care. At the clinical level, holistic nursing assessments are needed to guide transitions to palliative care. At the institutional level, implementing structured protocols with multidisciplinary support and financial counselling is essential. At the national level, policies should ensure universal health coverage and promote cultural acceptance of dignified treatment withdrawal. These findings provide actionable insights for healthcare administrators and policymakers and offer a foundation for strategies aimed at reducing barriers and improving access to supportive care services.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.