BACKGROUND: Men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer (PC) have to make a well-informed treatment choice between (robot-assisted) radical prostatectomy (RARP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and, in selected cases, brachytherapy and active surveillance.
We developed and validated a questionnaire to determine the cognitive reasons why patients choose their treatment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Prostate Cancer Decision-Making Questionnaire (PC-DMQ) was designed in-house and validated through the Delphi method by seven external experts. Finally, we tested this questionnaire in a cohort of 24 men, recently diagnosed with localised PC, before undergoing RARP (n = 16), EBRT (n = 6), brachytherapy (n = 1) or active surveillance (n = 1).
RESULTS: The experts reached consensus after three discussion rounds. In the patient cohort, 75% of men undergoing RARP chose this treatment because 'it provides the best chance of cure'. Reasons to choose EBRT were not as explicit: 33.3% chose this treatment because 'it provides the best chance of cure' and 33.3% because 'the maintenance of potency is important to them'.
CONCLUSIONS: The PC-DMQ is a comprehensive and standardised tool that allows further research into cognitive factors that influence treatment decision-making in patients with localised PC.
Written by:
Devos J, Van Praet C, Decaestecker K, Claeys T, Fonteyne V, Decalf V, De Meerleer G, Ost P, Lumen N. Are you the author?
Reference: Acta Clin Belg. 2015 Mar 27:2295333715Y0000000015.
doi: 10.1179/2295333715Y.0000000015
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25816107