What is already known about this topic?
While social inequality in cancer has been documented over the past decade or so, knowledge about patients’ social circumstances (e.g. employment and family relationships), social network, educational background, health literacy and mental wellbeing is not routinely assessed in medical practice. This is a problem, since research points to the advantages of healthcare professionals (HPs) systematically registering patients’ social data and using the information when communicating with them about their treatment.