Dr. Thaker on the Importance of Surveying Patients on Unmet Needs in Ovarian Cancer

Premal Thaker, MD, MS, professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, director, Gynecological Oncology Clinical Research, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, Siteman Cancer Center, discusses the importance of surveying patients on unmet needs in ovarian cancer. 

The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) recently initiated a multiphase study in 2019 with the end goal to improve care for patients with ovarian cancer. In the study, surveys were distributed to ACCC and Society of Gynecologic Oncology members. 

The initiative showed that a majority of patients with ovarian cancer were not consistently treated at academic centers, Thaker says. Moreover, there are a wide variety of institutions and numerous practice styles that assist​ed patients throughout their cancer journey, Thaker expands. Therefore, it remains necessary to understand that one size does not fit all when treating patients with ovarian cancer, Thaker adds.

The only way to assess unmet needs is to conduct a needs assessment to ensure that clinicians understand what challenges to address in the treatment paradigm, Thaker continues. Overall, clinicians have their own biases, but unless there is a survey of a variety of places is conducted, clinicians do not get a true assessment of the state of the treatment paradigm, Thaker concludes.