Introduction: Immunotherapy improves survival in advanced lung cancer patients but introduces immune-related side effects and uncertainty, leading to new supportive care needs. Unmet needs may lead to patient confusion during decision-making and decisional regret. Few studies have explored the association between supportive care needs and decisional regret in this population.
Purpose: To examine associations between supportive care needs and decisional regret among advanced lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a cancer center in Northern Taiwan. Eligible participants had advanced lung cancer and were receiving immunotherapy. Data were collected using questionnaires that included demographic and treatment characteristics, the Supportive Care Needs Screening Tool-9 (SCNS-ST9), a 13-item extended care needs scale covering symptom and nutritional, cognitive, daily living, and e-health needs, and the Decision Regret Scale (DRS). Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS.
Results: A total of 120 advanced lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy were recruited, with an average age of 62.4 (±11). The mean decisional regret score was 14.42 (±16.72), indicating a low level of decisional regret. The top three unmet needs were psychological needs (49.38 ± 27.54), physiological needs (38.96 ± 25.84), and symptom and nutritional needs (32.71 ± 23.44). Moderate positive correlations were observed between decisional regret and care needs, including symptom and nutritional, overall needs, psychological, cognitive, physiological, sexual, and daily living (r = 0.49, 0.41, 0.39, 0.37, 0.35, 0.25, 0.24, respectively).
Conclusion: Unmet supportive care needs significantly influence decisional regret among advanced lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy. Timely assessment and comprehensive interventions addressing symptom management, psychological support, information sharing, and shared decision-making are critical to improving patient satisfaction and quality of life.