Table 6.
Results of quantitative studies comparing different patient groups
| Study | Participants | Outcome | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lung (N = 96) vs breast (N = 30) or prostate (N = 46) cancer patients | |||
| LoConte 2008: Else-Quest 2009 USA |
|
|
Baseline differences between groups |
| Stage IV |
Patient |
|
|
| Lung cancer patients |
Guilt and shame (SSGS) |
NS^ |
|
| 100% NSCLC |
Shame subscale |
NS^ |
|
| Perceived cancer related stigma (5 items) |
p < 0.01^ greater for those with lung cancer |
||
| Lung (N = 89) vs breast (N = 30) vs prostate (N = 43) cancer patients | |||
| LoConte 2008: Else-Quest 2009 USA |
|
|
Baseline differences between groups |
| Stage IV |
Patient |
|
|
| Lung cancer patients |
Guilt and shame (SSGS) |
NS^^ |
|
| 100% NSCLC |
Perceived stigma (single item) |
NS^^ |
|
| Smoking history (N = 88) vs Never smoker (N = 8) lung cancer patients | |||
| LoConte 2008: Else-Quest 2009 USA |
|
|
Differences between groups |
| Stage IV NSCLC |
Patient |
|
|
| |
Guilt and shame (SSGS) |
p = 0.02* greater for those with a smoking history |
|
| Perceived cancer related stigma (5 items) |
NR |
||
| Current smoker (N = 25) vs Former smoker (N = 66) vs Never smoker (N = 9) lung cancer patients | |||
| Lobchuk 2008b Canada |
58% diagnosed with |
Patient |
Differences between groups |
| advanced disease 76% NSCLC |
Primary caregiver blame re patient’s efforts to control the disease - single item |
p < 0.05^^ greater for current vs never smokers |
|
| p < 0.05^^ greater for former vs never smokers | |||
| Lung vs breast cancer | |||
| Wassenaar 2007 USA | |
Physician |
Differences between groups |
| Different stages | Referrals to clinical oncologist for the scenarios: |
|
|
| after surgery for stage 1B disease |
p = 0.86* |
||
| hepatic and lung metastases – good performance status |
p < 0.001* lower for lung cancer |
||
| metastases - poor performance status |
p < 0.001* lower for lung cancer |
||
| advanced disease – solely for supportive or palliative care |
p = 0.009* higher for lung cancer |
||
| Reported importance of type of cancer as a factor contributing to decision to refer to oncologist |
p = 0.19# |
||
| Belief that chemotherapy could improve survival for: |
|
||
| stage IB resected disease |
p = 0.001* lower for lung cancer |
||
| metastatic disease – good performance status | p = 0.015* lower for lung cancer | ||
ECOG = Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group; NSCLC = Non small cell lung cancer; SCLC = Small cell lung cancer; SSGS = State Shame and Guilt Scale; NR = Not reported; NS = Not statistically significantly different; ^ MANCOVA with sex, age and time since diagnosis taken into account; ^^ Univariate ANOVA; * 2-sided t test: * Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test: # Non parametric Wilcoxon rank sum test.