Medical condition is related to treatment preference in cancer patients: implications for quality assessment.

Ongoing communication with cancer patients about their treatment preferences is important. A survey assessing treatment preferences was distributed to 100 cancer patients who were newly diagnosed, 100 in remission after therapy, and 60 who had failed therapy/ relapsed; 100 cancer caregivers, and 100 noncancer patients attending the cancer center for benign hematologic problems. Almost 59% of respondents preferred treatment even if the chance of cure was less than 10%.