Thinking Too Fast About Chemotherapy for Resectable Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases?

Abstract

In 2002, the psychologist Daniel Kahneman was a laureate with the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his notable work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making. He had demonstrated that people frequently fail to fully analyze situations where they must make complex judgments to maximize utility, instead making decisions in a more instinctive and emotional way, using “gut feelings” rather than rational analysis (which he had called a “fast” mode of thought).1 This knowledge has changed the understanding of the decision-making process and may help us understand why we are struggling to change practice despite the available data regarding the indication of postoperative chemotherapy (postop-CT) after curative intent liver surgery in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.