# Improving decision-making for older adults with melanoma

> **NIH NIH R03** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $322,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
Older adults account for over half of new cases of melanoma each year, but healthcare providers face
significant challenges when deciding on appropriate treatment for these patients. Evidence is limited on the
benefits and harms of treatment for older adults with melanoma because they were underrepresented in recent
landmark clinical trials in melanoma. Effective shared decision-making is also needed to elicit the unique
preferences of older adults and provide personalized treatment recommendations, but healthcare providers
routinely fail to understand patient preferences when practicing routine shared decision-making. The
combination of uncertain evidence and ineffective shared decision-making leaves older adults with melanoma
vulnerable to over and undertreatment. In this setting, older adults with melanoma would benefit from
improving the quality of evidence and implementing effective shared decision-making.
“Improving decision-making for older adults with melanoma” is a two-year R03 that responds
specifically to AG-24-047 for “transdisciplinary aging research that will yield pilot data and experience
for subsequent aging research projects.” This proposal serves the long-term goals of aligning treatment
decisions with patient preferences, maximizing use of beneficial treatments, and minimizing unwanted or
ineffective treatments for older adults with melanoma. The objective for this proposal is to inform and adapt the
“Better Conversations” framework for shared decision-making for older adults with melanoma. This project has
two aims: Aim 1, to characterize healthcare trajectories of older adults with melanoma to inform the discussion
of goals and downsides of treatment in the “Better Conversations” framework; Aim 2, to adapt the “Better
Conversations” framework for treatment discussions with older adults with melanoma.
The results of this proposed work will guide treatment discussions for older adults with melanoma. Upon
completion of this study, we will be well-positioned to perform a pilot study evaluating an intervention to teach
melanoma oncology providers to use the adapted “Better Conversations” framework for older adults with
melanoma.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10976695
- **Project number:** 1R03AG089004-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jay Soong-Jin Lee
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $322,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-15 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10976695

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10976695, Improving decision-making for older adults with melanoma (1R03AG089004-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10976695. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*