When Training Is Already Strong: Do Decision Aids Still Boost Shared Decisions in Thyroid Cancer?

Decision Aids in Trained Thyroid Teams Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) management is moving toward individualized care , especially for low-risk disease (lobectomy vs total thyroidectomy; surgery vs active surveillance) and for advanced radioiodine‑refractory DTC where timing of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is preference-sensitive. In the multicenter COMBO randomized trial across 13 Dutch hospitals, 86 patients with DTC were randomized 1:1 to receive online, values‑based patient decision aids (PtDAs; n = 44) or usual information (n = 42), after all 26 participating endocrinologists, surgeons, and oncologists had completed a 5‑hour shared decision‑making (SDM) communication training, and SDM quality in audio‑recorded consultations was scored by blinded raters using the OPTION5 scale (0–100).

Mean OPTION5 scores were already high and similar between groups (52 in the PtDA arm vs…