Current approaches in the treatment of malignant ascites in Germany and Austria.

e20670 Background: Malignant Ascites (MA) is a common manifestation of advanced cancer associated with a poor prognosis and decreased quality of life. Currently there are no evidence based guidelines for the management of MA and only one agent is approved for its treatment. We conducted a survey with physicians throughout Germany and Austria, to get an overview of current approaches and opinions in the treatment of MA. Methods: 128 medical oncologists (MO), gastroenterologists (GE) and gynecologists (GYN) completed an electronic questionnaire consisting of 33 questions. Answers were evaluated with descriptive statistics. Results: 90% of the physicians were from Germany, 10% from Austria. 48% of those were MO, 30% were GYN and 14% were GE. Most physicians treated an average of 34 pts/year with MA. 26% of these pts suffered from ovarian, 20% from pancreatic, 17% from gastric and 14% from colorectal cancer. The majority of the physicians associated MA with poor prognosis (92%) and significant reduction in qu...