title: Guideline sheets on the side effects of anticancer drugs are useful for general practitioners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  General practitioners (GPs) are more and more involved in the treatment of cancer patients but feel not informed enough about anticancer treatments and associated side effects. Better communication with treatment centers is needed. We hypothesized that information sheets could improve communication.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective, multicentric, and interventionist study aimed at implementing and assessing therapeutic sheets describing the side effects of anticancer drugs used for digestive and gynecological cancers and their recommended management. GPs' phone interviews were done through three successive phases and two independent cohorts. The first phase (T1; 242 GPs with one patient recently treated) listed their expectations, the second (T2; 158 GPs with one patient beginning treatment) assessed the GPs' opinion regarding the sheets, and the third (T3; responder GPs 4 months after the start of T2) assessed their usefulness in practice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In T1, 94% of GPs declared their need of having information sheets, notably for the management of side effects. Thirty-one one-page sheets were created. In T2, 83.5% gave a favorable opinion about sheets and 80% envisaged their use in the case of side effect. In T3, 56% of GPs whose patient had experienced a side effect had used successfully the sheets for its management, and 21% of patients with side effect were hospitalized. A strong correlation existed between the use of the sheet by GPs and the hospitalization (OR 7.35 in the case of no use vs use).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The guideline sheets represent a simple and low-cost solution to help GPs managing drugs' side effects and perhaps decrease the rate of unplanned hospitalizations.
authors: Département Universitaire de Médecine Générale, 133 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France. marieeve.rouge-bugat@dumg-toulouse.fr.|Faculté de Médecine, UMR 1027 INSERM-UPS, 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31000, Toulouse, France. marieeve.rouge-bugat@dumg-toulouse.fr.|Institut Universitaire du Cancer IUCT-Oncopole, 1, avenue Irène Joliot-Curie, 31059, Toulouse, Cedex 9, France. marieeve.rouge-bugat@dumg-toulouse.fr.
authors: Marie-Eve
authors: ME
authors: Rouge-Bugat
authors: Département Universitaire de Médecine Générale, 133 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France.
authors: Donia
authors: D
authors: Lassoued
authors: Département Universitaire de Médecine Générale, 133 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France.
authors: Joy
authors: J
authors: Bacrie
authors: Département Universitaire de Médecine Générale, 133 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France.
authors: Nathalie
authors: N
authors: Boussier
authors: Institut Universitaire du Cancer IUCT-Oncopole, 1, avenue Irène Joliot-Curie, 31059, Toulouse, Cedex 9, France.
authors: Jean-Pierre
authors: JP
authors: Delord
authors: Département Universitaire de Médecine Générale, 133 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France.
authors: Stéphane
authors: S
authors: Oustric
authors: Réseau Régional de Cancérologie Oncomip, IUCT-Oncopole, 1, avenue Irène Joliot-Curie, 31059, Toulouse, Cedex 9, France.
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Bauvin
authors: Faculté de Médecine, UMR 1027 INSERM-UPS, 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31000, Toulouse, France.
authors: Maryse
authors: M
authors: Lapeyre-Mestre
authors: Département d'Oncologie Médicale, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 232, Boulevard de Sainte-Marguerite, 13009, Marseille, France.
authors: François
authors: F
authors: Bertucci
authors: Faculté de Médecine, UMR 1027 INSERM-UPS, 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 31000, Toulouse, France.|Registre des Cancers du Tarn, BP37 81000, Albi, Cedex 01, France.
authors: Pascale
authors: P
authors: Grosclaude
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Cancer treatment; Digestive cancer; General practice; Guidelines sheets; Gynecological cancer; Side effects