Informed Consent in Patients with Adavanced Cancer of Digestive Organs

Mitsuru Sasako

Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital

To evaluate the applicability of informed consent of patients with advanced cancers of the digestive organs, 68 patients (71 operations) treated by the author were analyzed. Almost complete information about their diseases could be given to the patients themselves, by means of step by step telling the truth and careful follow up thereafter. Operative findings which were directly related to the prognosis were told to 13 patietns within one week after the operation, between the 8th and 14th day to 30, between the 15th and 30th day to 19. When selecting the postoperative treatment, best supportive catre was always nominated as one of the possible choices and 24 of the 68 patients selected it. Ratios of early death within 6 months are almost the same in two groups, with or without anti-cancer treatment. Four out of 11 patients who consulted a psychiatrist showed marked emotional disturbance but recovered in a short time. Obtaining informed consent from Japanese patients with advanced digestive cancer was deemed feasible and there was no reason to hide the truth from patients with poor prognosis.

Key words
informed consent in adavanced cancer patients, cancer of digestivi organs, telling the truth

Reprint requests
Mitsuru Sasako Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hosoital
5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104 JAPAN

Accepted
June 12, 1996

To read the PDF file you will need Abobe Reader installed on your computer.