Abstract

Background: Expectation and preferences of recurrent glioma patients are rarely captured and hence are ill reported in literature. To overcome the above-mentioned deficiency, we undertook a study to capture the expectation and preferences of recurrent glioma patients.

Methods: This was cross-sectional study, with the expectation and preferences, of 40 recurrent glioma patients were captured at a single visit post counseling about the disease prognosis and treatment options. SPSS version 16 and RStudio version 3.4.2 was used for analysis and descriptive statistics was performed.

Results: Prolongation of life as alone or in combination with symptom control was the primary expectation in 90% of patients (n=36, 95% CI 76.2-96.5). The median time patients preferred to devote out of the remaining life span for home, work and hospital were 60% (IQR 60-90), 32.5% (IQR 1.25-50) and 0% (IQR 0-10) respectively. The adverse event most feared by patients and hence not preferred were skin rash (7, 17.5%), numbness (7, 17.5%) and vomiting (6, 15%). Majority of patients (67.5%, 27) were willing to trade off a survival of >4 months for a cheaper regimen if necessitated. Ninety-five (38) percent of patients were willing to participate in the research protocols if they are available.

Conclusion: Prolongation of life either alone or along with symptom control is the primary expectation from systemic therapy of recurrent glioma patients.