Results
Approximately
half (54%) of newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients (65% with
residual disease >2 cm and 49% with no or ≤2 cm
residual disease) ranked ‘tumour shrinkage (or
decrease in blood levels of CA125)’ as ‘most important’ during
first-line chemotherapy.
Approximately two thirds (65–70%) of all women whose
disease had relapsed also ranked ‘tumour shrinkage’ as ‘most important’
during repeated chemotherapy. Few women (<8%) rated
symptom relief or absence of side-effects as most important. While both
patients' and doctors' belief about cure decreased
over successive treatments, patients grew more optimistic relative to
doctors
over time. Women's reports of advice by doctors about
cure were consistent with doctors' stated intents for repeat
chemotherapy.
However, discordance between doctors' actual treatment
intent and patients' beliefs about cure increased from 24% at
first-line
to 83% by fourth-line chemotherapy.
Conclusions
Women
prioritise tumour response as the most important outcome of
chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. This priority predominates
in women with residual and relapsed disease despite
declining likelihood of cure. Women may still hope for a cure while
acknowledging
their doctor's advice that their disease is incurable.
