Refusal of Recommended Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer: NCI (abstract)

 abstract

(open access - now restricted to subscribers)

 Release date: May 12, 2016; Expiration date: May 12, 2017

 Refusal of Recommended Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer: Risk Factors and Outcomes; a National Cancer Data Base Study

 A total of 147,713 patients were identified, of whom 2,707 (1.8%) refused chemotherapy.

 One encouraging finding from this study is the lack of geographic or facility distance factor on the patient refusal, suggesting that physical parameters may be less of a barrier to care for patients with ovarian cancer compared with other cancers.

Conclusions

The goal of this study was to identify patients who are at increased risk of refusing chemotherapy, a standard treatment with known efficacy in patients with ovarian cancer. Further research could focus on what therapies, if any, are received by patients who refuse chemotherapy, and the efficacy and tolerance of those treatments. Further research is also needed to identify individualized best practices for this high-risk subgroup. Consideration should be given for low-volume centers to refer patients refusing chemotherapy for second opinion at a higher-volume facility. The study results suggest that improved health care access and individualized counseling may improve care delivery, thereby providing patients with all treatment options and improved outcomes.