A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Preferences of Patients With Advanced Cancer for Quality of Life and Survival in Malaysia: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

This study aims to quantify the preferences of patients with advanced cancer for quality of life (QoL) outcomes versus survival extension in Malaysia. The secondary aim of this study is to explore the change in preferences over time. A discrete choice experiment was developed to include 7 attributes valued in cancer management: physical, psychological and social functioning, pain control, survival, place of death, and cost. Patients were recruited via convenience sampling from 2 Malaysian public hospitals. The survey questionnaire was administered to patients within 6 months of their cancer diagnosis with a follow-up 3 months later. Conditional logit regression was used to estimate the preference weight, relative attribute importance, and willingness to pay. One hundred valid responses were collected at baseline and 45 at follow-up. Respondents placed higher values on QoL improvements from severe to moderate or mild levels and to achieve home death over survival extension from 6 to 18 months. However, additional improvements (from moderate to mild) in some of the QoL outcomes were not valued as highly as life extension from 12 to 18 months, showing that it was vital for patients to avoid being in "severe" health dysfunction. Improving physical dysfunction from severe to mild yielded 3 times as much value as additional 1-year survival. After 3 months, the respondents' preferences changed significantly, with increased relative attribute importance of physical functioning, pain control, and cost. As QoL outcomes are valued more than survival, palliative care should be introduced as early as possible to alleviate suffering related to advanced cancer. • Patients with advanced cancer had substantially higher preference weights for quality-of-life outcomes (physical, psychological and social functioning, minimal pain, and death at home) over an additional 1-year of survival. • Longitudinal analysis of discrete choice experiment showed that patients' preferences change over time, making it imperative to involve them in the decision-making process constantly. • Although access to novel life-extending treatment is indispensable, early integration of palliative and supportive care into cancer care is equally essential to alleviate suffering related to physical dysfunction and pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]