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Table 1 Characteristics of all participants involved in the study

From: Decision-making on therapeutic futility in Mexican adolescents with cancer: a qualitative study

Characteristics

Adolescents interviewed (n = 6)

Children of parents interviewed (n = 13)

Parents a(n = 13)

Oncologists (n = 13)

n

n

n

n

Age in years, median (range)

15 (13–18)

14 (13–18)

40 (21–60)

38 (32–52)

Males

4

11

3

5

Education

 Uneducated

1

1

0

0

 ≤Secondary

4

9

5

0

 Preparatory

1

3

5

0

 Bachelor’s

0

0

2

0

 M.D.’s

0

0

0

13

 Master’s

0

0

1

7

 Diploma courseb

0

0

0

5

Type of cancer

 Haematological neoplasmc

2

2

  

 Extracranial solid tumourd

3

9

  

 Tumour of the CNSe

1

2

  

Seven deceased adolescents

Cause of death

 Treatment-associated complications

 

1

  

 Cancer progression

 

6

  

Place of death

    

 Hospital

 

3

  

 Home

 

4

  

Time between disclosure of therapeutic futility and death in days; median (range)

  

75 (3–365)

 

Time between start of non-curative treatment and death in days; median (range)

  

30 (3–270)

 

Duration of interview in min.; median (range)

28 (11–69)

 

44 (19–134)

51 (17–76)

  1. aParents or primary carers: 8 mothers, 3 fathers, 1 sister, and 1 grandmother
  2. bDiploma course in bioethics (n = 2); thanatology (n = 2); palliative care (n = 1)
  3. cAcute lymphoblastic leukaemia (n = 3); acute myeloid leukaemia (n = 1)
  4. dPrimitive neuroectoderm tumour (n = 3); Ewing sarcoma (n = 2); osteosarcoma (n = 4); testicular germ cell tumour (n = 1); colon adenocarcinoma (n = 2)
  5. eCentral nervous system: glioblastoma multiforme (n = 1); astrocytoma (n = 2)