Contributing factors and outcomes of treatment refusal in pediatric oncology in Germany

Background In Germany, about 1,800 new cases of pediatric cancer under 15 years of age are diagnosed each year and survival rates approach 80%. Although treatment is covered by health insurance and is thus available for all patients at no cost, treatment refusal and treatment discontinuation have been observed. However, no data providing numbers and outcomes for developed countries have been published thus far. Procedure A questionnaire-based survey was performed among German pediatric oncology centers to ascertain the number of treatment refusals among pediatric patients who were diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2009 in Germany. Results Questionnaires from 70 of 73 centers were …