MedTrace Logo

Parental Decision-Making for Children With Relapsed Neuroblastoma

NCT02282735 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 96

Last updated 2025-07-29

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Parental decision-making for children with advanced cancer is complex. Many parents have overly optimistic beliefs about prognosis and as a result choose aggressive measures even at the end of life, which are associated with greater suffering. Yet most parents wish to limit suffering, and in retrospect, many regret choices for cancer treatment for advanced cancer. These findings suggest that parents do not always have the information they need to make decisions that reflect their preferences.

The proposed study will evaluate parental decision-making in advanced cancer, addressing gaps in the literature in 3 important respects. 1) Previous work on decision-making for children with advanced cancer has typically looked at decisions at one point in time, often asking parents to reflect on decisions after the child's death, even though parents' understanding of prognosis and decisions about care evolve over time. We will evaluate parental decision-making for advanced cancer over time. 2) Existing work focuses on aggressive end-of-life care as the worst possible outcome. However, some parents wish to pursue aggressive measures even when they recognize that the child has little chance for cure. We will evaluate the extent to which parental decision-making is informed and consonant with preferences, regardless of whether decisions lead to aggressive or palliative care. 3) Previous studies have focused on groups of different childhood cancers, making it difficult to ascertain whether differences in decision-making reflect differences in diseases, options for care, or parent preferences. We will focus on a single disease, relapsed neuroblastoma, as a model for parental decision-making.

Conditions

  • Relapsed Neuroblastoma

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Jennifer W Mack, MD MPH · Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-05-31
Primary Completion
2019-04-30
Completion
2027-06-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02282735 on ClinicalTrials.gov