eP152 - What Do Colorectal Cancer Patients Value: Cancer Control vs Function?

ePoster Presenter(s)

• 

  George Q. Zhang, MD MPH

  Resident
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, MA, United States

  All relevant financial disclosures have been managed and will be listed below.
  This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Author(s)

• 

  Goda Savulionyte, MD (she/her/hers)

  Colorectal Surgery Fellow
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, MA, United States

  Disclosure information not submitted.

Author(s)

• AS

  Ayako Stanlie, MD

  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• JI

  Jennifer Irani, MD

  Assistant Professor, Associate Surgeon
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• JG

  Joel Goldberg, MD

  Assistant Professor of Surgery
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• RB

  Ronald Bleday, M.D.

  Chief of Colorectal Surgery
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  All relevant financial disclosures have been managed and will be listed below.
  This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.
• JS

  Jennifer Shin, MD

  Associate Professor of Otology and Laryngology
  Brigham and Women's Hospital
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  Disclosure information not submitted.

Senior Author(s)

• 

  Nelya Melnitchouk, MD, MSc, FACS

  Surgeon, Assistant Professor
  Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  Harvard Medical School
  Boston, MA, United States

  All relevant financial disclosures have been managed and will be listed below.
  This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Purpose/Background: Surgery to address colorectal cancer may be curative and may also result in a decreased functional state. We prospectively collected data to determine patients' values and priorities in advance of decision making for colorectal cancer treatment and surgery.Methods/Interventions: Consecutive patients who presented with colorectal cancer to a high-volume tertiary care hospital clinic were offered the opportunity to complete an electronic survey in advance of their first visit. The survey was offered through the Data Innovations group in the Office for Professional development. Patients ranked their concerns related to colorectal cancer surgery on a scale of 1 (mildly important) to 100 (extremely important), as well as their concerns in order of importance. Patients were then asked to rate their preference for preserving their chance of function versus cure. A descriptive analysis was performed.Results/Outcomes: 156 patients rated their concerns related to colorectal surgery. The mean age of respondents was 57.3, and 53.2% were male. Self-reported race was 67.7% White, 22.6% Asian, and 9.7% Hispanic. Concerns that were most important to patients were ‘Cancer control’, ‘Bowel functioning’, ‘Energy levels’, and ‘Fecal leakage’ (Figure 1). Among these, 102 patients also ranked concerns in order of importance. The highest rated concerns were ‘Being cured of cancer’, ‘The absence of stoma’, ‘Having normal bowel movements’, and ‘Having a normal stool frequency’. Within this group, 92 patients rated their preference for preserving function versus cure, with a majority of patients valuing the chance for cure over preserving function.Conclusion/

Discussion: Patient priorities are important to consider when discussing surgical intervention for colorectal cancer. This survey emphasizes that while patients are primarily concerned about cancer control or cure, they have additional priorities that colorectal surgeons should evaluate when providing preoperative counseling and obtaining informed consent.

Figure 1Patients rate their concerns related to colorectal surgery on a scale of 1 (mildly important) to 100 (extremely important)Figure 1Patients rate their concerns related to colorectal surgery on a scale of 1 (mildly important) to 100 (extremely important)