Methods:We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional survey in 5 specialist oncology centers across 4 European countries.Physicians completed a standardized questionnaire for breast cancer outpatients during routine consultations in November 2025 -January 2026.Collected variables included need for translation, patient's first language, type of translator, and physician-assessed level of patient comprehension.Descriptive analyses were performed.Results: Among N=500 patients, 59 (11.8%) patients required a translator.Of these, 5.1% understood no information and 62.7% did not fully understand the consultation.Twenty-six different first languages were reported.Ukrainians speaking Ukrainian or Russian (22.0%) were the most frequent first languages, followed by Turkish (10.2%), and Arabic (6.8%).Translation was mainly provided by family members (54.2%) or friends (16.9%), while only 10.2% of patients had access to an official professional translator.In 11.9% (7/59) of the consultations, medical staff acted as translators.Conclusions: Patients living with breast cancer frequently experience clinically relevant language barriers, while access to professional medical interpreters remains limited and informal translation is frequently used.This situation poses a significant challenge to safe, equitable, and patient-centered breast cancer care, and supports the need for structured medical translation tools for oncology services.
L. Baggaley (Fri,) studied this question.