[Evaluation of requests for a second medical opinion by patients with lung cancer]

Getting a second opinion seems common in oncology, even though the management of these serious diseases results from a multidisciplinary approach. Our aim was to determine the incidence of requests for a second opinion in thoracic oncology at the university hospital of Nancy, since the establishment of the Cancer Plan in 2003. This plan formalized multidisciplinary staff meetings, which should help to reassure patients and therefore reduce the recourse to additional consultations.

A detailed and anonymous questionnaire was conducted on 77 patients suffering from lung cancer, followed-up over 2years in the respiratory department of the University Hospital of Nancy. The socio-economic characteristics were collected from the medical records.

Recourse to a second practitioner was reported by 14 % of the patients suffering from lung cancer. It concerned more women than men and more patients with a higher educational level and socio-professional category.

Requests for a second opinion by patients with lung cancer are not as frequent as expected. However, when they are made, it is more frequently by women and patients with a higher socio-economic status.