Staging prognostic discussions about glioblastoma

Neuro oncologists bear the responsibility of disclosing prognostic information to patients with glioblastoma. Despite this obligation, prognostic information is neither routinely nor effectively communicated.

A narrative review of empiric data related to prognostic disclosure in cancer and in GBM is performed, and a normative framework based on this data and our own clinical and ethical experience and consideration is presented.

The authors propose a framework of staged disclosure of prognostic information, where the incurability of glioblastoma and the likelihood of neurocognitive decline are discussed at the first patient encounter, but estimations of life expectancy are deferred until a subsequent visit. This approach pragmatically balances oncologists' obligation to preserve patient autonomy and prioritize advance care planning, while also aiming to prevent information overload, allowing the news to be delivered in the context of an increasingly trustful patient-physician relationship, and allowing for more accurate estimations in light of complete pathology results, which are not often available at the first visit.

Staged prognostic discussions about glioblastoma balance oncologists' ethical obligations and optimize communication of prognostic information to patients and their families. Further empirical studies implementing this approach are warranted.