My mind is made up: Cancer concern and women’s preferences for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy

Abstract

The fear of cancer recurrence is cited as a motivator of women's preferences between routine monitoring and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) as methods of managing ongoing breast cancer risk. We conducted a discrete choice experiment among a general community sample of women who completed 12 hypothetical choices between routine monitoring and CPM described by aspects of treatment efficacy, safety, cost and involvement in decision‐making. Respondents also completed a modified cancer worry question to assess cancer concern. Approximately 57.5% of 464 women always chose one option, typically routine monitoring. The majority (71.5%) reported being concerned about cancer recurrence when completing choice tasks. Latent class analysis identified three groups: preferred routine monitoring; preferred CPM; and “traders” (willing to swap between options). Among traders, women were less likely to choose an option associated with higher risk of recurrence. Women were more likely to choose options associated with less‐intrusive monitoring methods and where they were involved in decision‐making. Women concerned about cancer recurrence were more likely to choose CPM over monitoring. This study shows that women's preferences about how to manage breast cancer recurrence risk reflect the importance of the associated health effects, experience of care and attitudes to cancer recurrence.

Benefícios da mastectomia profilática: uma revisão de literatura

“…A colaboração entre profissionais de saúde, pesquisadores e organizações de apoio é imprescindível para avançar no conhecimento e na prática relacionados a este tema. 21,22,23…”

Re‐imagining Psycho‐oncology

“…The large buffering effect found for psychological flexibility provides encouragement for researchers to consider acceptance and commitment therapy as potentially clinically relevant to this patient population. De Abreu Lourenco et al () undertook a discrete choice experiment to explore how women's level of concern about cancer recurrence shaped their preferences for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy as a method of managing breast cancer risk compared to routine monitoring. A reminder that decision making about medical treatment is closely connected to individual values that shape our choices.…”