Patient-Reported Communication With Their Health Care Team About New Treatment Options for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) often requires consideration of multiple treatment options. Shared decision-making (SDM) is important, given the availability of increasingly novel therapies; however, patient–provider treatment conversations vary. We examined relationships between patient–provider discussions of new CLL treatment options and sociodemographic, clinical, and patient–provider communication variables among 187 CLL patients enrolled in Cancer Support Community’s Cancer Experience Registry. Factors significantly associated with self-reports of whether patients’ providers discussed new CLL treatment options with them were examined using χ2 tests, t tests, and hierarchical logistic regression. Fifty-eight percent of patients reported discussing new treatment options with their doctor. Patients with higher education were 3 times more likely to discuss new treatment options relative to those with lower education (OR = 3.06, P <.05). Patients who experienced a cancer recurrence were 7 times more likely to discuss new treatment options compared to those who had not (OR = 7.01, P <.05). Findings offer insights into the correlates of patient–provider discussions of new CLL treatment options. As novel therapies are incorporated into standards of care, opportunities exist for providers to improve patient care through enhanced SDM.