Parental Decision-Making for Children With Relapsed Neuroblastoma
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| ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02282735 |
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Recruitment Status :
Active, not recruiting
First Posted : November 4, 2014
Last Update Posted : May 24, 2022
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Parental decision-making for children with advanced cancer is complex. Many parents have overly optimistic beliefs about prognosis and as a result choose aggressive measures even at the end of life, which are associated with greater suffering. Yet most parents wish to limit suffering, and in retrospect, many regret choices for cancer treatment for advanced cancer. These findings suggest that parents do not always have the information they need to make decisions that reflect their preferences.
The proposed study will evaluate parental decision-making in advanced cancer, addressing gaps in the literature in 3 important respects. 1) Previous work on decision-making for children with advanced cancer has typically looked at decisions at one point in time, often asking parents to reflect on decisions after the child's death, even though parents' understanding of prognosis and decisions about care evolve over time. We will evaluate parental decision-making for advanced cancer over time. 2) Existing work focuses on aggressive end-of-life care as the worst possible outcome. However, some parents wish to pursue aggressive measures even when they recognize that the child has little chance for cure. We will evaluate the extent to which parental decision-making is informed and consonant with preferences, regardless of whether decisions lead to aggressive or palliative care. 3) Previous studies have focused on groups of different childhood cancers, making it difficult to ascertain whether differences in decision-making reflect differences in diseases, options for care, or parent preferences. We will focus on a single disease, relapsed neuroblastoma, as a model for parental decision-making.
| Condition or disease |
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| Relapsed Neuroblastoma |
Parental decision-making for children with advanced cancer is complex. Many parents have overly optimistic beliefs about prognosis and as a result choose aggressive measures even at the end of life, which are associated with greater suffering. Yet most parents wish to limit suffering, and in retrospect, many regret choices for cancer treatment for advanced cancer. These findings suggest that parents do not always have the information they need to make decisions that reflect their preferences.
The proposed study will evaluate parental decision-making in advanced cancer, addressing gaps in the literature in 3 important respects. 1) Previous work on decision-making for children with advanced cancer has typically looked at decisions at one point in time, often asking parents to reflect on decisions after the child's death, even though parents' understanding of prognosis and decisions about care evolve over time. We will evaluate parental decision-making for advanced cancer over time. 2) Existing work focuses on aggressive end-of-life care as the worst possible outcome. However, some parents wish to pursue aggressive measures even when they recognize that the child has little chance for cure. We will evaluate the extent to which parental decision-making for advanced cancer is informed and consonant with preferences, regardless of whether decisions lead to aggressive or palliative care. 3) Previous studies have focused on groups of different childhood cancers, making it difficult to ascertain whether differences in decision-making reflect differences in diseases, options for care, or parent preferences. We will focus on a single disease, relapsed neuroblastoma, as a model for parental decision-making. Children with relapsed neuroblastoma have advanced cancer but many options for care, including established cancer regimens, clinical trials, and palliation. Relapsed neuroblastoma presents an ideal model for parental decision-making in the setting of a complex array of choices. We will follow 120 parents at 8 institutions over time, beginning at relapse and continuing over 18 months. Parent interviews every 3 months and reviews of medical records throughout that time will be used to evaluate the ways that parental preferences for the aggressiveness of treatment change over time (Aim 1). Parental perception that care has been burdensome will be evaluated as possible driver of change in decision-making (Aim 2). Ideally, parent values for care would be the primary driver of treatment goals. Thus we will evaluate the extent to which parental understanding of prognosis, treatment options, and expected benefits and burdens of treatment can allow decision-making consonant with parental preferences in the absence of prior negative experiences with care (Aim 3). Finally, in-depth parent interviews will allow us to evaluate personal factors that drive parental decision-making (Aim 4). Throughout the study, a Parent Advisory Group will guide assessment of care preferences and decision-making.
| Study Type : | Observational |
| Actual Enrollment : | 96 participants |
| Observational Model: | Cohort |
| Time Perspective: | Prospective |
| Official Title: | Parental Decision-Making for Children With Relapsed Neuroblastoma |
| Study Start Date : | May 2013 |
| Actual Primary Completion Date : | April 2019 |
| Estimated Study Completion Date : | March 2024 |
- Number of parents who prefer life-prolonging care [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Questionnaire-based measure
- Number of parents who experience decisional regret [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Questionnaire-based measure
- Number of parents who report that care has been burdensome [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Questionnaire-based measure
- Number of parents who report that care received is consonant with the parent's preferences [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Questionnaire-based measure
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| Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) |
| Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
| Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
| Sampling Method: | Non-Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Parent of a child with relapsed or refractory high risk neuroblastoma, as defined by the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group, without respect to timing of first determination of relapse or refractory disease;
- Parent aged 18 years or older, of a child aged <=18 years;
- English- or Spanish-speaking.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Delirium/dementia as judged by the treating physician
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT02282735
| United States, California | |
| Children's Hospital of Los Angeles | |
| Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027 | |
| Stanford/Packard's Children's Hospital | |
| Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304 | |
| United States, Illinois | |
| The University of Chicago Medical Center | |
| Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637 | |
| United States, Massachusetts | |
| Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | |
| Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215 | |
| United States, New York | |
| Columbia University Medical Center | |
| New York, New York, United States, 10032 | |
| United States, Pennsylvania | |
| The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia | |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104 | |
| United States, Tennessee | |
| St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | |
| Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105 | |
| United States, Texas | |
| Cook's Children's Healthcare System | |
| Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76104 | |
| United States, Washington | |
| Seattle Children's Hospital | |
| Seattle, Washington, United States, 98145 | |
| Principal Investigator: | Jennifer W Mack, MD MPH | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
| Responsible Party: | Jennifer Mack, MD, Attending Physician, Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
| ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT02282735 |
| Other Study ID Numbers: |
13-083 |
| First Posted: | November 4, 2014 Key Record Dates |
| Last Update Posted: | May 24, 2022 |
| Last Verified: | May 2022 |
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neuroblastoma end-of-life decision-making parent child |
prognosis preferences childhood cancer oncology |
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Neuroblastoma Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Peripheral Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial Neuroectodermal Tumors |
Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal Neoplasms by Histologic Type Neoplasms Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue |