계명대학교 의학도서관 Repository

The Understanding of Terminal Cancer and Its Relationship with Attitudes toward End-of-Life Care Issues

Metadata Downloads
Affiliated Author(s)
조치흠
Alternative Author(s)
Cho, Chi Heum
Journal Title
Medical Decision Making
ISSN
0272-989X
Issued Date
2014
Keyword
terminal cancerend of lifeterminologylife-sustaining treatmentpalliative care
Abstract
Background. Although terminal cancer is a widely used
term, its meaning varies, which may lead to different attitudes
toward end-of-life issues. The study was conducted
to investigate differences in the understanding of terminal
cancer and determine the relationship between this understanding
and attitudes toward end-of-life issues. Methods.
A questionnaire survey was performed between 2008 and
2009. A total of 1242 cancer patients, 1289 family caregivers,
303 oncologists from 17 hospitals, and 1006 participants
from the general population responded. Results.
A ‘‘6-month life expectancy’’ was the most common understanding
of terminal cancer (45.6%), followed by ‘‘treatment
refractoriness’’ (21.1%), ‘‘metastatic/recurrent disease’’
(19.4%), ‘‘survival of a few days/weeks’’ (11.4%), and
‘‘locally advanced disease’’ (2.5%). The combined proportion
of ‘‘treatment refractoriness’’ and ‘‘6-month life expectancy’’
differed significantly between oncologists and the
other groups combined (76.0% v. 65.9%, P = 0.0003). Multivariate
analyses showed that patients and caregivers who
understood terminal cancer as ‘‘survival of a few days/
weeks’’ showed more negative attitudes toward disclosure
of terminal status compared with participants who chose
‘‘treatment refractoriness’’ (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.42,
95% confidence interval [CI] 0.22–0.79 for patients; aOR
0.34, 95% CI 0.18–0.63 for caregivers). Caregivers who
understood terminal cancer as ‘‘locally advanced’’ or ‘‘metastatic/
recurrent disease’’ showed a significantly lower percentage
of agreement with withdrawal of futile lifesustaining
treatment compared with those who chose ‘‘treatment
refractoriness’’ (aOR 0.19, 95% CI 0.07–0.54 for locally
advanced; aOR 0.39, 95% CI 0.21–0.72 for metastatic/recurrent).
Conclusions. The understanding of terminal cancer
varied among the 4 participant groups. It was associated
with different preferences regarding end-of-life issues. Standardization
of these terms is needed to better understand
end-of-life care. Key words: terminal cancer; end of life; terminology;
life-sustaining treatment; palliative care. (Med
Decis Making 2014;34:720–730)
Department
Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology (산부인과학)
Publisher
School of Medicine
Citation
June Koo Lee et al. (2014). The Understanding of Terminal Cancer and Its Relationship with Attitudes toward End-of-Life Care Issues. Medical Decision Making, 34(6), 720–730. doi: 10.1177/0272989X13501883
Type
Article
ISSN
0272-989X
DOI
10.1177/0272989X13501883
URI
https://kumel.medlib.dsmc.or.kr/handle/2015.oak/33414
Appears in Collections:
1. School of Medicine (의과대학) > Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology (산부인과학)
공개 및 라이선스
  • 공개 구분공개
  • 엠바고Forever
파일 목록

Items in Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.