Shared decision-making and patient decision aids in choosing first-line targeted therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer in Taiwan.

Introduction: In Taiwan, given the discrepancy between current treatment guidelines and reimbursement options, patients might require a tool to support their decision-making process when selecting a regimen for metastatic colorectal cancer, especially therapeutic strategies, and subsequent costs, along with efficacy and safety outcomes. Therefore, we developed a patient decision aid (PDA) to support patients in choosing between treatment options recommended based on the current evidence and those reimbursed by the Taiwanese National Health Insurance.

Methods: By carefully reviewing the updated data and then interpreting the clinical tool, we conducted a needs assessment using a serial questionnaire to test for a step-by-step adjustment of the PDA.

Results: Patients, their relatives, and medical team members were most concerned about outcomes, such as overall survival, progression-free survival, objective response rate, tumor shrinkage to resectable status, total medical cost, severe gastrointestinal perforation, and severe skin reaction. After a serial alpha test for quality, we performed quantitative evaluation and beta tests, revealing average scores of more than 4 points (on a scale of 1-5) for both perceptibility and utility.

Conclusions: The present findings suggest that PDAs are useful and supplement the shared decision-making practice, helping patients make decisions about preferences and consider the pros and cons of treatment regimens, along with insurance reimbursement options.