[Bioethical issues and principles in cancer treatment]

Bioethics was established as a new area of interdisciplinary studies focusing on human conduct in the field of the life sciences and health care in the light of moral values and principles in the 1960's and the beginning of the 1970's. Physicians abiding by classical medical ethics based upon the Oath of Hippocrates became subject to criticism because they behaved paternalistically in relation to their patients and provided medical treatment dogmatically without adequate explanation concerning conditions and diagnoses of patients' diseases, what kinds of treatments they were to receive and the possible benefits and risks thereof, along with their prognoses. During the patients' rights' movement, law suits against paternalistic physicians increased in number and the courts tried to establish ethical and legal principles for judgments in law suits using the Ethical Code of Neurenberg (1947) as an excellent model. The legal principles established as "informed consent" include obligations of physicians to provide their patients with adequate explanation and truth-telling, and the rights of patients to autonomy, choice, self-determination, and to give consent to physicians. Besides these rights, patients also have the right to put their veto on their own rights. In such cases, truth-telling by physicians, who believe in truth-telling, such as the disclosure of the diagnosis of cancer to these patients, can legally result in infringement of the patient's rights. It is important for physicians to respect the wishes and opinions of patients based on their own values and not to insist on personal dogmatic opinions. The disclosure of cancer diagnosis to terminal patients is certainly one of the most difficult procedures in medical practice and requires profound medical experience and bioethical insight.