Abstract
Background: We used the Therapy Preference Scale, a 30-item questionnaire, to determine cancer treatment preferences of adults with cancer. Methods: We used Wilcoxon's rank sum test and Fisher's exact test to compare the preferences of younger (<60 years) versus older adults (≥60 years). Results: While 56% of patients would accept treatment offering increased life expectancy at an expense of short-term side effects, 75% preferred maintenance of cognition, functional ability and quality of life to quantity of days. Oral instead of intravenous treatment (p = 0.003), shorter hospital stay (p = 0.03), preservation of cognitive function (p = 0.01) and avoidance of pain (p = 0.02) were more important to older patients compared with younger patients. Conclusion: Many patients prioritized maintenance of cognition, functional ability and quality of life; older patients valued oral treatment, shorter hospital stay, preservation of cognitive function and avoidance of pain.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 311-321 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Future Oncology |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2022 |
Keywords
- cancer
- cognition
- life expectancy
- patients
- preferences
- quality of life
- questionnaire
- therapy
- treatment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research