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Involvement and comfort of gynecologic oncologists in the treatment of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with gynecologic malignancies
Author(s) -
Winer Ira,
Patel Divya,
Dalton Vanessa,
Johnston Carolyn,
Quint Elisabeth H.,
Zochowski Melissa,
Munkarah Adnan,
Morris Robert,
Haefner Hope
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/ijgo.12200
Subject(s) - medicine , gynecologic oncology , pediatric oncology , family medicine , multidisciplinary approach , gynecologic cancer , oncology , cancer , social science , sociology , ovarian cancer
Objective To investigate the provision of care for pediatric and adolescent patients by gynecologic oncologists. Methods The present prospective cross‐sectional study enrolled attending physicians and fellows specializing in gynecologic oncology from the USA during December 2012 and January 2013. A 33‐question survey collecting demographic data and details of participant opinions on existing practices was distributed to potential respondents. Survey responses were aggregated and descriptive analyses were performed. Results The survey was distributed to 1252 physicians and 178 (14.2%) surveys were returned; 105 (59.0%) participants thought that the care of patients aged younger than 21 years should be included in their practice. Only 7 (3.9%) participants had received formal training in caring for pediatric patients and young adults; however, 85 (47.8%) felt this should be incorporated into formal fellowship training. Multidisciplinary teams were reported to be the best method for caring pediatric patients by 160 (88.9%) participants but only 42 (23.6%) participants reported that multidisciplinary teams were involved in pediatric gynecologic oncology care at their institutions. Conclusion Gynecologic oncologists wanted to be involved in pediatric care and open dialogue between specialists could help in the provision of optimal, longitudinal care to these patients. Furthermore, the incorporation of formal pediatric patient‐focused training into gynecologic oncology fellowship programs should be considered.