Medical Oncologists Survey

In 2020, the PCDI launched the MBC Patient Survey which disclosed that 86% of the 1,221 patient respondents had experienced at least one bad treatment-related side effect.  The side effects were severe enough to cause 1 out of 5 patients to visit the hospital and more than 2 out of 5 patients to miss at least one treatment.  Encouragingly, the vast majority of patients - 92% - said they would be willing to discuss flexible doing options with their oncologists. 

After hearing MBC patients’ voices, the PCDI wanted to obtain oncologists’ perspectives about the prevalence and severity of patients’ side effects. To this end, in 2021 the PCDI launched a Medical Oncologists Survey for US-based oncologists with experience treating patients with MBC. Not surprisingly, the oncologists somewhat underestimated the prevalence and severity of their patients’ side effects. But it was encouraging to learn that 85% of the medical oncologists surveyed do NOT believe that a higher dose of a cancer drug is always more effective than a lower dose, and that the vast majority - 97%  - would be willing to discuss flexible dosing options with their patients. 

The results from the Medical Oncologists Survey, coupled with those from the MBC Patient Survey, are serving as a catalyst for awareness and transformation in the oncology health care community.