Abstract: Faced with diverse and complex cancer treatment options, surrogate decision-makers for cancer patients must repeatedly weigh treatment efficacy, potential risks, and family circumstances, making them highly susceptible to decision fatigue. Such fatigue not only compromises the quality of their decisions but also exerts a sustained negative impact on their own physical and mental well-being. This paper summarized the status, influencing factors and coping strategies of surrogate decision-makers of cancer patients, to provide a reference for healthcare professionals in China to further investigate decision fatigue and explore effective decision support systems.

Key words: cancer patient; surrogate decision-making; decision fatigue; review