Clinicians may need to do more to help breast cancer patients understand their disease and treatment regimens, according to a recent study from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Researchers discovered that breast cancer patients have a shocking lack of knowledge when it comes to even the simplest characteristics of their diagnosis, including their disease's stage and their tumor's pathologist-assigned grade.
Rachel Freedman, MD, first author of the study, physician and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, believes patients who understand their diagnosis are more likely to adhere to their treatment regimes, so it's vital for clinicians to ensure patients are informed.
Specific factors many women were unaware of when surveyed included the stage of their tumor; whether it was low, intermediate, or high grade; whether it was 'HER2-positive' or generally treated with trastuzumab; and whether it was estrogen-receptor positive.
Out of 500 women in the California Cancer Registry who had undergone surgery for breast cancer and were interviewed, only 55 percent said they knew their estrogen-receptor status, 33 percent reported knowing their disease stage and 32 percent said they knew the grade of their tumor.
Only 13 percent said they knew all characteristics and 14 percent reported knowing none of them.
Going further, researchers compared the women's answers to the California Cancer Registry and found that only 56 percent of women were correct on their estrogen-receptor status, 58 percent were correct on their HER2 status, 57 percent were correct about their cancer's stage and 20 percent reported the correct grade.
A mere 8 percent were correct on all four questions, according to the report.
The stage is an important factor for patients to know, according to the study, because it measures the patients' risk and helps patients understand why they need to adhere to their medication regimen.
Dr. Freedman plans to study further the impact different communication styles of physicians and healthcare providers has on patient knowledge. She has considered studying numerous interventions, including patient videos, smart phone apps and checklists.
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