Factors Influencing the Attitudes of Chinese Cancer Patients and Their Families Toward the Disclosure of a Cancer Diagnosis

The disclosure of a cancer diagnosis to patients has been a core topic in oncology departments. Previous studies have demonstrated that Chinese cancer patients and their families differ in their attitudes toward cancer diagnosis disclosure. However, the influencing factors regarding their different attitudes remain unknown. In the present study, a questionnaire was delivered to 266 cancer patients and 266 matched family members. The results showed that cancer patients were more likely to desire to be informed of their condition than family members (85 vs. 18 %, P < 0.01). The patients’ age had a significant influence on their attitudes (P < 0.01), while the family members’ gender, profession, educational level, and their relationship with the patients could significantly affect their attitudes (all P < 0.05). Further multivariate analyses indicated that a family member’s gender (odds ratio (OR) = 2.928, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.379–6.213, P = 0.005), profession (OR = 2.814, 95 % CI 1.548–5.119, P = 0.001), and educational level (OR = 0.105, 95 % CI 0.053–0.211, P < 0.001) remained significant variables. Due to a lower educational level, only 74 % of families knew about chemotherapy, and 90 % of families were not familiar with molecular targeted therapy. However, 78 % of patients expected to be cured of their cancer, 16.5 % expected to reduce the severity of their condition, and 4.9 % expected to lengthen their lives. Therefore, physicians have a responsibility to appropriately provide knowledge regarding cancer to the patients’ families if their educational level is lower and if they have no knowledge of recent treatments, which may improve their acceptability of a cancer diagnosis for patients.