The Internal Coherence of Breast Cancer Patients Is Associated with the Decision-Making for Chemotherapy and Viscum album L. Treatment

Abstract

Objective. In the present observational study, the influence of internal coherence on shared decision-making for chemotherapy (CTX) and Viscum album L. extracts (VA) treatment in breast cancer patients was evaluated. Methods. Breast cancer patients with a guideline-oriented advice from the tumor board for CTX were included in the study. At first diagnosis (T0) and 6 months later (T1), a questionnaire, the internal coherence scale (ICS), was administered and evaluated. Prior to analysis, patients were classified retrospectively depending on their treatment decision. Results. 64 primary nonmetastasized breast cancer patients (median age 54.8 years, IQR: 46.3-65.3) were analyzed in this study. At T0, adjusted multivariable linear regression analyses revealed significant low ICS scores in patients rejecting CTX, especially in the ICS subscale “thermo coherence” (p = 0.006). The decision for add-on VA-therapy was associated with low scores for the ICS subscale “inner resilience coherence”, in particular low for the item “courage”. At T1, in the CTX+VA-group the thermo coherence increased significantly (p(d) < 0.01), while in contrast, in the CTX-only group the thermo coherence decreased significantly (p(d) = 0.02). Conclusion. Add-on VA-applications in CTX treatment support the thermo coherence of breast cancer patients, revealing a decision option to encourage patients to undergo CTX in combination with additional VA-treatments.