Behavior, attitude, perception, and knowledge regarding fertility preservation among Chinese pediatric oncologists: a survey in China

Clinical specialists are supposed to inform childhood cancer patients of infertility risk and conduct fertility preservation (FP). However, little is known about whether doctors in China are fully prepared. This study aimed to investigate behavior, attitude, perception, and knowledge regarding FP among pediatric oncological specialists in a nation wide survey, to set the stage for improvements in current clinical practice patterns.

This study was conducted on physicians and surgeons specialized in pediatric oncology using a questionnaire through the WeChat platform. The behavior, attitude, perception, and knowledge were assessed by Likert questions and results were quantified to obtain scores. Data were then described and analyzed using R and GraphPad.

Totally 373 specialists in pediatric tumors were included in the analysis. Hematologists, oncological surgeons, and reproductive medicine specialists won most trusts to be responsible for FP job. Most respondents did not have habits of delivering FP information or cooperating with FP specialists during treatment though they were well equipped with FP knowledge and desired for uniform national guideline for FP procedures. The severity of illness was regarded as the primary barrier of FP delivery. When a doctor was more educated and experienced, he was more likely to have better performance in FP. The total score, the knowledge score, and the single score concerning frequency of patients’ inquiry showed aggregational trend on geographic distribution.

Chinese pediatric oncologists demonstrated unsatisfactory practice behaviors based upon this self-reporting survey, although their attitude towards FP was generally positive.