Impact of Clinician-Patient Communication in Cancer using a Patient Communication Profile: A Randomized, Controlled Study

Background/objectives: Effective communication is critical to optimizing cancer care, influencing treatment plans and outcomes. Studies consistently demonstrate that clear, well-structured communication with cancer patients significantly enhances therapeutic results and plays a central role in meeting patient communication needs and improving care quality. Methods: This randomised, controlled, parallel, study evaluated the impact of the Patient Communication Profile (PCP) and quality of life (QoL) measures through the use of the McGill QoL instrument, on cancer patient outcomes. The PCP was completed by participants at baseline and 2 follow-up visits over 4 weeks and the McGill QoL instrument was completed at baseline and second follow-up visit. Questionnaires were made available to oncologists for the study group while these were blind for oncologists of the control group. Results: 105 patients were randomized (2:1) into control (N=41) and study groups (N=64). At baseline, no differences were observed between groups, while over the follow-up period, a better understanding and higher level of satisfaction with their encounters, due to a more comprehensive acquisition of information, was reported in the study group vs. control (p<0.05). The periodical and individualized feedback on need for information and related issues significantly contributed to the improvement in QoL (assessed using the McGill questionnaire) in the study group (p<0.05). Furthermore, significant improvements in mean PCP domain scores in the study group were also observed (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings show that integrating routine assessments of patients' information needs with individualized feedback to clinicians before encounters enhances mutual understanding. This approach improves patient QoL and optimizes treatment adherence in cancer care.