There is paucity of data regarding the knowledge and understanding of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) about their disease stage and treatment goals. This study assessed these patients' awareness of MBC incurability, topics reviewed with their oncologist, perceptions of having enough knowledge to participate in treatment decision-making, most helpful information source, and satisfaction with the information they received. For this purpose, 185 patients with MBC who attended follow-up medical appointments at a Mexican referral cancer center completed a survey designed by the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance. Clinical data were obtained from medical records. Descriptive statistics were applied, and associations between qualitative and quantitative variables were assessed with χ2 and Mann-Whitney U tests, respectively. Half (52%) of the patients were aware that their disease was incurable, while 31% were not sure, and 17% thought it was curable. Forty percent found it difficult to talk about treatments because they did not understand the options that were available to them. The medical staff was the most helpful information source for 74% of participants, and 64% scored their satisfaction with information ≥9 of 10. A significant association was found between higher satisfaction and knowing that MBC is incurable, as well as being older than 40 years. These results illustrate the significant lack of understanding patients with MBC have regarding their cancer, even when reporting high satisfaction with the provided information, and identify a critical need for improved patient education to enhance their comprehension and promote their participation in decision-making processes, treatment adherence, and, ultimately, outcomes.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥转移性乳腺癌患者的知识和理解存在差距。

关于转移性乳腺癌 (MBC) 患者对其疾病阶段和治疗目标的了解和理解的数据很少。这项研究评估了这些患者对 MBC 无法治愈的认识、与肿瘤科医生讨论的主题、对拥有足够知识参与治疗决策的看法、最有用的信息来源以及对收到的信息的满意度。为此，185 名在墨西哥转诊癌症中心接受后续医疗预约的 MBC 患者完成了由转移性乳腺癌联盟设计的一项调查。临床数据从医疗记录中获得。应用描述性统计，并分别使用 χ2 和 Mann-Whitney U 检验评估定性和定量变量之间的关联。一半（52%）的患者知道自己的疾病无法治愈，而 31% 的患者不确定，17% 的患者认为可以治愈。百分之四十的人发现很难谈论治疗方法，因为他们不了解可用的选择。对于 74% 的参与者来说，医务人员是最有帮助的信息来源，64% 的参与者对信息的满意度≥9（满分 10）。发现更高的满意度与知道 MBC 无法治愈以及年龄超过 40 岁之间存在显着关联年。这些结果表明，即使 MBC 患者对所提供的信息非常满意，他们仍对其癌症严重缺乏了解，并确定迫切需要改进患者教育，以增强他们的理解并促进他们参与决策过程、治疗坚持，以及最终的结果。