Table 1 Characteristics of included manuscripts

Chen (2012) [27]

Single-center (Taiwan)

53 “liver patients”

Use a multi-attribute utility theory to establish a decision model for liver cancer treatment selection and explore whether patients’ treatment preferences were

concordant with their physicians’ recommendations

Web-based questionnaire

-Patients preferred active treatment in the case of advanced HCC

-Factors impacting treatment decision most were cure rate, survival rate, and ability to provide self-care

-Preferences differed significantly based on HCC stage and physician recommendations

N

Chiba (2019) [20]

Multi-center (Japan)

199 patients with HCC

Evaluate preferences for features associated with intermediate or advanced HCC treatments (sorafenib, TACE, and HAIC)

Web-based best-worst scaling, direct preference elicitation and willingness to try

-Oral medication perceived as most favorable

-Risk

of liver damages perceived as least favorable

-Patients’ previous experience

with treatment influence preferences

regarding future treatments (i.e., likely

favor the option they are most familiar with)

N

Li (2023) [21]

Agency recruited (US)

200 patients with self-reported unresectable HCC

Quantify patients’ benefit-risk preferences for attributes associated with first line systemic treatments for unresectable HCC (atezolizumab + bevacizumab vs. tyrosine kinase inhibitors)

Web-based discrete choice experiment

-Patients prioritized avoiding side effects (e.g., moderate-to-severe

palmar-plantar syndrome and hypertension) that would severely impact their quality of life

-Patients regarded an

additional 10 months of maintaining daily function without decline to be as important

or more important than an additional 10 months of overall survival

Y

Lo (2021) [23]

Agency recruited (France, Germany,

Spain, UK)

150 patients with self-reported HCC

Understand patient preferences for characteristics of advanced

HCC treatments

Web-based discrete choice experiment

-Patients placed most value on extending overall survival

-Patients will forego some months of life to avoid side

effects or risks

Y

Molinari (2014) [19]

Multi-center (Canada)

75 patients with cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class A or B)

Elicit preference between HR and RFA in early-stage HCC

In-person probability trade off technique

-Informed cirrhotic patients prefer RFA for the treatment of early-stage HCC

N

Nathan (2011) [24]

Agency recruited (US)

336 surgeons “with an interest in liver surgery”

Quantify the impact of clinical factors and surgeon specialty on surgical decision making in early HCC

Web-based conjoint analysis

-Surgeon specialty (i.e., whether or not the surgeon was involved in liver transplantation) was at least as important as clinical factors in determining preference for initial therapy

N

Nathan (2013) [25]

Agency recruited (US)

336 surgeons “with an interest in liver surgery”

Understand the effect of surgeon- and hospital-related factors

on surgical decision-making in early HCC

Web-based conjoint analysis

-Surgeon practice type, annual HCC patient volume, and procedures performed for HCC had significant association with choice of therapy

-Surgeon’s involvement in procedure performed for HCC remained the strongest predictor of choice of therapy

N

Nathan (2014) [26]

Agency recruited (US)

119 physicians who treat HCC

Quantify the impact of

clinical factors on choice of therapy for early HCC by

gastroenterologists and hepatologists

Web-based conjoint analysis

-Clinical factors (i.e., tumor number and size, type of resection

required, MELD score, and platelet count) had the largest effect on choice of therapy

-No physician-related

factors studied had an impact on choice of therapy

N

Parikh (2023) [22]

Physician and agency recruited (US)

150 patients with unresectable or metastatic HCC who had progressed on, or were intolerant to, first-line sorafenib therapy

Determine patients’ preferences for mode

of administration and risk of adverse events for regorafenib (4 tablets once daily) vs. ramucirumab (once in 2 weeks IV for 30/60 minutes)

Web-based modified threshold technique

-All else being equal, patients preferred daily tablets to every 2 week IV

-In the context of associated adverse events, most patients preferred every 2 week IV

Y

Wang (2022) [28]

Single-center (China)

180 primary liver cancer patients

Explore the effects of a “Shared

Decision Making Assistant” smartphone application on the decision-making of informed patients

“Shared

Decision Making Assistant” smartphone application

-Patients using SDM Assistant” had significantly lower decision

conflict scores than those in the control group

-Scores of

“regret of decision making” between the two groups had no statistical significance after 3 months

N