There were also no significant variations in the distribution of the general wishes statements between the curative and noncurative groups or between the decision-aid and control groups, nor were there differences in the median treatment aggressiveness score of patients who used the decision aid, regardless of whether they had initially had curative-intent surgery.
"Regardless of what they choose in terms of their level of aggressiveness, the patients are more satisfied with their decision, they feel more informed, and caregiver satisfaction has improved with the decision aid compared with traditional materials," Dr. Gusani said.
"This is really important work," commented Dr. Sandra L. Wong of the University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, who comoderated the poster discussion session.
The study was supported by Penn State College of Medicine. Dr. Gusani, Dr. Chen, and Dr. Wong reported having no financial conflicts of interest.