A survey among oncologists on measures needed to improve cancer care

There is a continuous need for optimizing cancer care in Europe and globally. We aimed to apprehend the perception of (mainly medical) oncologists with regards to the importance of measures intended to improve the standard of cancer care.

Oncologists attending the 29th ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) congress were invited to respond to a rated (1-5) questionnaire addressing the following issues: research; medical training and education; funding; supportive therapy; interdisciplinary cooperation; structure of care; patient information and empowerment.

327 oncologists (median age: 43 years (23-80), 63.6% males) from 55 countries (77.7% European) responded. Academic research was considered the most important issue, followed by medical training and education, and interdisciplinary cooperation. Low ratings were given to the type of medical background of the caregiver and to the preferred treatment setting. The most highly rated single measures (on a scale of 0-100) were: more funding for clinical research by governments (100); more research by academic institutions (98.97); and better international cooperation in clinical studies (98.58). On the lowest end of priorities were: inclusion of alternative medicine into treatment plans (0); and cancer treatment provided by disease specialists only (15.14).

Oncologists consider increased academic research and enhanced international cooperation as the most important prerequisites to cancer care improvement.