Interest In and Practices Related to Gynecologic Oncology among Members of the Brazilian Federation of Associations of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Abstract Objective The present study aims to obtain basic demographic information, the level of interest and of training in gynecology oncology among Brazilian obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYNs) to create a professional profile. Methods An online questionnaire was sent to 16,008 gynecologists affiliated to the Brazilian Federation of Associations of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FEBRASGO, in the Portuguese acronym). We considered gynecologists dedicated to gynecologic oncology (OB-GYNs ONCO) those who self-reported that > 50% of their daily practice consists in working with women’s cancer care. Results A total of 1,608 (10%) of 16,008 FEBRASGO members responded. The OBGYNs are concentrated in the southern and southeastern states of Brazil. Gynecologic oncology was considered the 8th greatest area of interest in gynecology among the OBGYNs. A total of 95 (5.9%) of the OB-GYNs were considered OB-GYNs ONCO. Obstetricians and gynecologists are actively engaged in cancer care: > 60% of them dedicate up to 25% of their daily practice to oncology. The role of the physicians in screening and prevention, diagnosis, in the treatment of precancerous lesions, and in low complexity surgical procedures is notably high. Gynecologists dedicated to gynecologic oncology in Brazil have a heterogeneous, nonstandardized and short training period in gynecologic oncology. These professionals had a more significantly role in performing medium- and high-complexity operations compared with OB-GYNs (65.2% versus 34%, and 47.3% versus 8.4%, respectively). Conclusion The role of OB-GYNs and of OB-GYNs ONCO appears to be complementary. Obstetricians and gynecologists actmore often in screening and prevention and in low-complexity surgical procedures, whereas OB-GYNs ONCO are more involved in highly complex cases. Strategies to raise standards in cancer training and to encourage the recognition of gynecologic oncology as a subspecialty should be adopted in Brazil.摘要 研究目的 本研究旨在获取巴西妇产科医师（Obstetricians and Gynecologists, OB-GYNs）的基本人口统计学信息、妇科肿瘤学兴趣水平与培训情况，以构建其职业画像。研究方法 本研究向巴西妇产科医师协会联合会（葡萄牙语缩写：FEBRASGO）注册的16008名妇产科医师发放线上问卷。将自我报告每日临床工作中超过50%的时间用于女性癌症诊疗的妇产科医师定义为妇科肿瘤亚专科妇产科医师（OB-GYNs ONCO）。研究结果 共回收1608份有效问卷，有效回收率为10%。受访妇产科医师主要集中于巴西南部与东南部各州。在妇产科领域中，妇科肿瘤学被列为第8大受关注的研究方向。共有95名（5.9%）受访者被归类为妇科肿瘤亚专科妇产科医师。绝大多数妇产科医师积极参与癌症诊疗工作：超过60%的医师每日临床工作中最多有25%的时间用于肿瘤相关诊疗。医师在癌症筛查与预防、癌前病变诊疗以及低复杂度外科手术中的参与度显著较高。巴西的妇科肿瘤亚专科妇产科医师接受的妇科肿瘤学培训具有异质性、非标准化且培训时长较短。与普通妇产科医师相比，妇科肿瘤亚专科医师参与中、高复杂度手术的比例显著更高（分别为65.2% vs 34%、47.3% vs 8.4%）。研究结论 普通妇产科医师与妇科肿瘤亚专科妇产科医师的职业角色具有互补性。普通妇产科医师更多参与癌症筛查与预防以及低复杂度外科手术，而妇科肿瘤亚专科医师则更多参与高复杂度病例的诊疗。巴西应制定相关策略以提升肿瘤学培训的标准化水平，并推动妇科肿瘤学被正式认定为独立亚专科。