Urologists' Role and Attitude in the Systemic Treatment of Urologic Cancers

Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate Turkish urologists' role and attitude toward the systemic treatment of urologic cancers. Materials and Methods: An 18-item survey was e-mailed to 2305 certified Turkish urologists. The survey included questions designed to evaluate urologists' knowledge of chemotherapy procedures and their ability to manage complications, as well as how many of them perform systemic therapies and believe urologists should perform these therapies for urologic cancers. Results: We evaluated 305 responses. Most urologists (89.6%) perform hormonotherapy for prostate cancers. Further, the majority refer patients to medical oncologists for chemotherapy. Moreover, 65.9%, 70.8%, and 72.1% of the urologists believe that only medical oncologists should deliver chemotherapy for prostate, bladder, and testicular cancers, respectively. Only 23.9% of urologists believe they are competent to perform chemotherapy, while 16.7% believe they are capable of dealing with chemotherapy complications. Conclusion: Turkish urologists have a lack of performance and interest in administering systemic therapies in urologic cancers. We want to emphasize that urology is more than just surgery. Urologists should be involved in all stages of cancer treatment.