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Communication is central to pediatric oncology care. Pediatric oncologists disclose life-threatening diagnoses, explain complicated treatment options, and endeavor to give honest prognoses, to maintain hope, to describe treatment complications, and to support families in difficult circumstances ranging from loss of function and fertility to treatment-related or disease-related death. However, parents, patients, and providers report substantial communication deficits. Poor communication outcomes may stem, in part, from insufficient communication skills training, overreliance on role modeling, and failure to utilize best practices. This review summarizes evidence for existing methods to enhance communication skills and calls for revitalizing communication skills training within pediatric oncology.

BACKGROUND Families' communication needs during the early cancer treatment period (ECTP) may not be optimally met by current practices. We sought to identify potential communication gaps and to ameliorate these by developing a novel in-depth conversation between families and their pediatric oncologists, the "Day 100 Talk" (D100), during the ECTP. PROCEDURE We conducted semistructured interviews with parents and patients undergoing childhood cancer treatment for