"Picture this"- Patients' Drawings of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Novel Method to Help Understand How...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Psychology
• Patient-reported outcomes

Background:

• Limited data exists on patient experiences with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).
• Understanding patient beliefs is crucial for effective NMIBC management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patient beliefs about NMIBC using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) and novel bladder drawings.
• To explore current and future perceptions of NMIBC among patients.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 118 NMIBC patients.
• Patients completed the B-IPQ and drew their bladder as it is now and in 5 years.
• Analysis correlated drawings with B-IPQ scores and clinical data.

Main Results:

• 18% of patients depicted their NMIBC worsening over time.
• Worsening perceptions correlated with stronger beliefs in the severity of NMIBC consequences and greater current concerns.
• These concerns were independent of cancer grade, stage, treatment, or demographics.

Conclusions:

• This study introduces a novel visual method to assess NMIBC patient perceptions.
• A significant minority of NMIBC patients harbor concerns about disease progression.
• Further research into psychological concerns is needed for tailored multidisciplinary care.