A survey in general practice about undergraduate cancer education: results from Gironde (France).

In Bordeaux University (France), oncology teaching was individualized in 1972, and an optional oncology course devoted to general practice was created in 1980. To evaluate the adequacy of these two oncology classes for general practitioners and so to adapt our current teaching, we sent to each of 1,219 general practitioners (GP's) of Gironde (county of the southwest of France) an anonymous questionnaire about oncology teaching in prevention, screening and cancer detection, cancer management, and curriculum balance. We received 688 (56.4%) responses. GPs said that as undergraduates, they were insufficiently instructed about screening programs (65%), pain control (80%), palliative care (50%) and fundamental or biological data (greater than 55%). This situation, which showed signs of improvement from 1975 on, has improved even more since 1985. General practitioners, as well as undergraduates, are not yet adequately educated about cancer for general practice, so we have to adapt better our current teaching for undergraduates and those in continuing medical education.