Mariken Stegmann

Discussion  Particularly when applied to older patients in a palliative care setting, it is important that  patients be empowered to make decisions in collaboration with a medical doctor. In the  past, some research was conducted into SDM and related tools. However, to our  knowledge, this will be the rst study in this setting to include the GP in preparing the  patient for SDM.  In our intervention, the GP has a conversation with the patient about his or her  preferences for generic treatment goals before making a treatment decision in  collaboration with the oncologist. The GP’s knowledge of the patient’s coping with  former episodes of sickness may help in eliciting his actual priorities. Besides, patients  value the fact that the GP often has a long‐term relationship with the partner and has a  practice that can be accessed in their own neighborhood. 30  An OPT‐based conversation  can serve as a rst step in the end‐of‐life process that will often be coordinated by the  GP. Furthermore, the conversation can facilitate improved communication and  collaboration between primary and secondary care, which is important to patient care. 3 We anticipate that this study will add to the limited evidence about the use of SDM  among older patients with cancer in the palliative setting. This topic is considered highly  relevant because of the aging of the population and rapid expansion of treatment  possibilities in cancer care.  Additional information  Conict of interest  The authors declare that they have no conict of interest.  Funding  This work is supported by a grant from the Dutch Cancer Society Fund (KWF  Kankerbestrijding) (RUG 2014‐7273). The sponsor had or has no role in the study design;  in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in  the decision to submit the article for publication.  Ethical approval  The Institutional Review Board of the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG)  reviewed the protocol and informed consent will be obtained from participants.  Acknowledgment  We thank dr. Robert Sykes  (www.doctored.org.uk)  for providing editorial services.  2 25 Protocol for the OPTion study