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Text mining of patient-reported concerns during palliative chemotherapy: evolving patterns and implications for
Nobumichi Takeuchi1, Saiko Kurosawa2, Sonomi Yoshida3
1Medical Oncology, Ina Central Hospital, Ina, Nagano Prefecture, Japan noblesse111@me.com.
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care
|August 12, 2026
Summary
Patient concerns during palliative chemotherapy change over time and with treatment phase. Text mining reveals evolving medical and psychosocial needs, highlighting the importance of tailored communication for advanced cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Palliative Care
- Health Informatics
- Text Mining
Background:
- Palliative chemotherapy is crucial for advanced solid tumors.
- Understanding patient-reported concerns is vital for effective care.
- Existing methods may not fully capture the dynamic nature of patient concerns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze patient-reported concerns in palliative chemotherapy using text mining.
- To investigate how these concerns evolve based on treatment phase and patient characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective text-mining study of 584 free-text responses from 479 patients with advanced solid tumors.
- Utilized KH Coder for morphological and co-occurrence network analysis.
- Stratified analyses by treatment phase, age, and family structure.
Main Results:
- Adverse effects were the most common concern.
- Symptom concerns decreased post-initiation; value/continuation concerns increased.
- Concerns shifted from broad pre-treatment to structured, treatment-focused during therapy.
- Practical concerns declined, while uncertainty remained stable.
Conclusions:
- Patient concerns in palliative chemotherapy are dynamic and context-dependent.
- Free-text analysis offers deeper clinical insights than structured surveys.
- Tailored, ongoing communication addressing medical and psychosocial needs is essential.
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