Variation in the Attitudes of Medical Oncologists Toward Research Biopsies in Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer

Background.Tissue fromresearch biopsies provides access to insights into tumor biology. We aimed to determine medical oncologists’ (MOs’) attitudes toward research biopsies in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Materials and Methods. A total of 309 breast MOs from NationalCancerInstitute(NCI)-designatedcancercenterswere invited to complete a self-administered survey about their attitudes toward approaching patients for research purposeonlybiopsies(RPOBs),performedasastandaloneprocedure,or additionalbiopsies,performedwithaclinicallyindicatedbiopsy. The MOs were asked to predict what proportion of their MBC patients would consider undergoing research biopsies. Results. Of the 309 MOs, 221 (72%) responded. Of these 221 MOs, 30 were ineligible, leaving 191 eligible responders. NearlyalltheMOsreportedtheywerecomfortableapproach