Skip Navigation


Annals of Oncology Advance Access originally published online on January 15, 2009
Annals of Oncology 2009 20(5):941-945; doi:10.1093/annonc/mdn709
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/5/941    most recent
mdn709v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Numico, G.
Right arrow Articles by Merlano, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Numico, G.
Right arrow Articles by Merlano, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

oncology practice

The process of truth disclosure: an assessment of the results of information during the diagnostic phase in patients with cancer

G. Numico1,*, M. Anfossi2, G. Bertelli3, E. Russi4, G. Cento2, N. Silvestris5, C. Granetto6, G. Di Costanzo6, M. Occelli6, E. Fea6, O. Garrone6, M. Gasco6, I. Colantonio6 and M. Merlano6

1 Medical Oncology Unit, Regional Hospital of the Aosta Valley, Aosta
2 Ufficio Qualità, S. Croce e Carle General Hospital, Cuneo, Italy
3 South West Wales Cancer Institute, Swansea, UK
4 Radiotherapy, General Hospital, Asti
5 Medical and Experimental Oncology Unit, Cancer Institute, Bari
6 Medical Oncology Unit, S.Croce e Carle General Hospital, Cuneo, Italy

* Correspondence to: Dr G. Numico, Medical Oncology, Ospedale Regionale della Valle d'Aosta, Viale Ginevra 3, 11100 Aosta, Italy. Tel: +39-0165-546308; Fax +39-0165-543301; E-mail: gnumico{at}ausl.vda.it

Background: Surveys carried out in Mediterranean countries demonstrated very low rates of awareness of both diagnosis and prognosis among cancer patients. In our institution, a long-term training program aimed at improving communication skills among all physicians interacting with cancer patients was conducted. We report here the results of an extensive assessment of patients’ awareness conducted after the first training period.

Patients and methods: In a 2-year period, after every first visit of patients with a histological diagnosis of cancer, oncologists elicited perception of the patients and completed a structured questionnaire focusing on the understanding of the diagnosis and prognosis. Our data are thus a photograph of the results of the informative process conducted during the diagnostic phase.

Results: Among the enrolled 649 patients, 79.3% were aware of their diagnosis; factors significantly associated with higher levels of awareness were age younger than 70 and referral from surgery (versus internal medicine). Knowledge about the palliative or curative aims of future treatments (a surrogate sign of prognostic consciousness) was evident in 55.2%.

Conclusions: Compared with historical data, our results show a high level of comprehension of the diagnosis of malignancy, probably due to the extensive training effort together with the method chosen for assessment.

Key words: cancer, communication, truth disclosure

Received for publication March 15, 2008. Revision received October 14, 2008. Accepted for publication October 20, 2008.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 NeurologyHome page
R. G. Miller, C. E. Jackson, E. J. Kasarskis, J. D. England, D. Forshew, W. Johnston, S. Kalra, J. S. Katz, H. Mitsumoto, J. Rosenfeld, et al.
Practice Parameter update: The care of the patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Multidisciplinary care, symptom management, and cognitive/behavioral impairment (an evidence-based review): Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology
Neurology, October 13, 2009; 73(15): 1227 - 1233.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.