Decision-making experiences of patients and partners opting for active surveillance in esophageal cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the decision-making experiences of patients and their partners or primary caregiver who opted for experimental active surveillance (instead of standard surgery) for the treatment of esophageal cancer. METHODS: Seventeen couples participated. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on couples' joint experiences as well as their individual experiences. Preferred and perceived role in the treatment decision-making process was assessed using the adjusted version of the Control Preferences Scale, and perceived influence on the treatment decision was measured using a visual analog scale. RESULTS: Couples reflected on the decision-making process as a positive collaboration, where patients retain their autonomy by making the final decision, and partners offer emotional support. Couples reported about an overwhelming amount and sometimes conflicting information about treatments among different hospitals and healthcare providers. CONCLUSIONS: Patients often involve their partner in decision-making, which they report to have enhanced their ability to cope with the disease. The amount and sometimes conflicting information during the decision-making process provide opportunities for improvement. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Couples can benefit from an overview of what they can expect during treatment course. If active surveillance becomes an established treatment option in the future, provision of such overviews and consistent information should become more streamlined.

Patients' Preferences Towards Decision Counseling for Active Surveillance After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Decision counseling (DC) is offered to enable patients to reflect on their treatment preferences and to think through the consequences of alternative treatment options. However, the timing of DC is debatable. In this study, patients who underwent DC at different times were interviewed about their experiences, specifically focusing on the timing of DC. METHODS: Patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer eligible for participation in a prospective cohort study on active surveillance (SANO-2 study) were offered DC either before or after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). Structured interviews were conducted by phone 1 week after DC, and responses were analyzed using frequency counts for the answers to set response categories. The primary outcome was the preferred time to receive DC, while the secondary outcome was the overall experience of patients with DC. RESULTS: Overall, 40 patients were offered DC between 2021 and 2023. Patients who had counseling before the start of nCRT (n = 20) were satisfied with the timing of DC. Of the 20 patients who had DC after nCRT, 6 would have preferred counseling at an earlier time point. Patients who had DC both before or after the completion of nCRT reflected positively on DC. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to introduce the option of DC as early as possible and discuss with the patient at which moment during the decision-making process they prefer to discuss all treatment options more extensively.

Esophageal cancer patients' need for information and support in making a treatment decision between standard surgery and active surveillance.

BACKGROUND: This study explores patients' need for information and support in deciding on esophageal cancer treatment, when experimental active surveillance and standard surgery are both feasible. METHODS: This psychological companion study was conducted alongside the Dutch SANO-trial (Surgery As Needed for Oesophageal cancer). In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from patients who declined participation in the trial because they had a strong preference for either active surveillance (n = 20) or standard surgery (n = 20). Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. RESULTS: Patients prefer to receive information directly from their doctors and predominantly rely on this information to make a treatment decision. Other information resources are largely used to confirm their treatment decision. Patients highly value support from their loved ones and appreciate emphatic doctors to actively involve them in the decision-making process. Overall, patients' needs for information and support during decision-making were met. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of shared decision-making and the role doctors have in this process is underlined. The role of doctors is essential at the initial phase of decision-making: Once patients seem to have formed their treatment preference for either active surveillance or surgery, the influence of external resources (including doctors) may be limited.

Surgeon's steering behaviour towards patients to participate in a cluster randomised trial on active surveillance for oesophageal cancer: A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have been conducted into how physicians use steering behaviour that may persuade patients to choose for a particular treatment, let alone to participate in a randomised trial. The aim of this study is to assess if and how surgeons use steering behaviour in their information provision to patients in their choice to participate in a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial investigating an organ sparing treatment in (curable) oesophageal cancer (SANO trial). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative study was performed. Thematic content analysis was applied to audiotaped and transcribed consultations of twenty patients with eight different oncological surgeons in three Dutch hospitals. Patients could choose to participate in a clinical trial in which an experimental treatment of 'active surveillance' (AS) was offered. Patients who did not want to participate underwent standard treatment: neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by oesophagectomy. RESULTS: Surgeons used various techniques to steer patients towards one of the two options, mostly towards AS. The presentation of pros and cons of treatment options was imbalanced: positive framing of AS was used to steer patients towards the choice for AS, and negative framing of AS to make the choice for surgery more attractive. Further, steering language, i.e. suggestive language, was used, and surgeons seemed to use the timing of the introduction of the different treatment options, to put more focus on one of the treatment options. CONCLUSION: Awareness of steering behaviour can help to guide physicians in more objectively informing patients on participation in future clinical trials.

A prospective cohort study on active surveillance after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer: protocol of Surgery As Needed for Oesophageal cancer-2.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by esophagectomy is a standard treatment for potentially curable esophageal cancer. Active surveillance in patients with a clinically complete response (cCR) 12 weeks after nCRT is regarded as possible alternative to standard surgery. The aim of this study is to monitor the safety, adherence and effectiveness of active surveillance in patients outside a randomized trial. METHODS: This nationwide prospective cohort study aims to accrue operable patients with non-metastatic histologically proven adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus or esophagogastric junction. Patients receive nCRT and response evaluation consists of upper endoscopy with bite-on-bite biopsies, endoscopic ultrasonography plus fine-needle aspiration of suspicious lymph nodes and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan. When residue or regrowth of tumor in the absence of distant metastases is detected, surgical resection is advised. Patients with cCR after nCRT are suitable to undergo active surveillance. Patients can consult an independent physician or psychologist to support decision-making. Primary endpoint is the number and severity of adverse events in patients with cCR undergoing active surveillance, defined as complications from response evaluations, delayed surgery and the development of distant metastases. Secondary endpoints include timing and quality of diagnostic modalities, overall survival, progression-free survival, fear of cancer recurrence and decisional regret. DISCUSSION: Active surveillance after nCRT may be an alternative to standard surgery in patients with esophageal cancer. Similar to organ-sparing approaches applied in other cancer types, the safety and efficacy of active surveillance needs monitoring before data from randomized trials are available. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The SANO-2 study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT04886635 (May 14, 2021) - Retrospectively registered.

Patient preferences for active surveillance vs standard surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in oesophageal cancer treatment: The NOSANO-study.

Active surveillance may be a safe and effective treatment in oesophageal cancer patients with a clinically complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). In the NOSANO-study we gained insight in patients' motive to opt for either an experimental treatment called active surveillance or for standard immediate surgery. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses methods were used. Forty patients were interviewed about their treatment preference, 3 months after completion of nCRT (T1). Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the principles of grounded theory. In addition, at T1 and T2 (12 months after completion of nCRT) questionnaires on health-related quality of life, coping, anxiety and decisional regret (only T2) were administered. Interview data analyses resulted in a conceptual model with 'dealing with threat of cancer' as the central theme. Patients preferring active surveillance tend to cope with this threat by confiding in their bodies and good outcomes. Their mind-set is one of 'enjoy life now'. Patients preferring surgery tend to cope by minimizing uncertainty and eliminating the source of cancer. Their mind-set is one of 'don't give up, act now'. Furthermore, questionnaire results showed that patients with a preference for standard surgery had a lower quality of life. Patient preferences are individualized and thus difficult to predict. Our model can help healthcare professionals to determine patient preferences for treatment. Coping style and mind-set seem to be determining factors here.

Both low and high spatial frequencies drive the early posterior negativity in response to snake stimuli.

Previous event-related potential (ERP) studies have shown that snake pictures elicit greater early posterior negativity (EPN) compared to other animal pictures. The EPN reflects early selective visual processing of emotionally significant stimuli. Evidence for the role that high and low spatial frequencies play in the early detection of snakes is still inconsistent. The current study aims to clarify this by studying the effect of high and low spatial frequencies on the elevated EPN for snakes separately. Using a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm, participants viewed images of snakes, spiders and birds in three different conditions of filtered spatial frequencies: high spatial frequency, low spatial frequency, and full spatial frequency (the original image). P1 and mean EPN activity in a time window of 225-300 ms after stimulus onset were measured at the occipital cluster (O1, O2, Oz). The results show smaller P1 amplitudes and shorter P1 latencies in response to full-spectrum snake pictures compared to full-spectrum spider and bird pictures, and an increased EPN in response to snake pictures compared to spider and bird pictures in all three filtering conditions. The EPN in response to full-spectrum snake pictures was larger than the EPN in response to filtered snake images. No difference in EPN was found between the snake pictures in the high and low spatial frequency conditions. The results suggest that the roles of high and low spatial frequencies in early automatic attention to snakes are equally important.