Papers Published

1. Gaskin, DJ; Weinfurt, KP; Castel, LD; DePuy, V; Li, Y; Balshem, A; Benson, A; Burnett, CB; Corbett, S; Marshall, J; Slater, E; Sulmasy, DP; Van Echo, D; Meropol, NJ; Schulman, KA, An exploration of relative health stock in advanced cancer patients., Med Decis Making, vol. 24 no. 6 (2004), pp. 614-624 [15534342], [doi].
   (last updated on 2026/01/21)

   Abstract:
   OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to empirically test whether relative health stock, a measure of patients' sense of loss in their health due to illness, influences the treatment decisions of patients facing life-threatening conditions. Specifically, they estimated the effect of relative health stock on advanced cancer patients' decisions to participate in phase I clinical trials. METHOD: A multicenter study was conducted to survey 328 advanced cancer patients who were offered the opportunity to participate in phase I trials. The authors asked patients to estimate the probabilities of therapeutic benefits and toxicity, their relative health stock, risk preference, and the importance of quality of life. RESULTS: Controlling for health-related quality of life, an increase in relative health stock by 10 percentage points reduced the odds of choosing to participate in a phase I trial by 16% (odds ratio = 0.84, 95% confidence interval = 0.72, 0.97). CONCLUSION: Relative health stock affects advanced cancer patients' treatment decisions.