Aim The aim of this study was to determine dosimetric factors, such as mean dose and oesophageal length, which may influence the incidence and severity of oesophagitis in breast cancer patients receiving radiotherapy to the supraclavicular nodes. Methods This was a single‐arm prospective observational study. Toxicity grading was undertaken twice weekly to determine the onset of grade 2 oesophagitis in consecutive patients prescribed IMRT to the breast or chest wall and supraclavicular fossa (SCF) nodes. Recorded variables included mean and maximum doses to the oesophagus, oesophageal length and pharynx length within the treatment area. Multivariate logistic regression and Fishers’ exact test were used with a 0.05 significance level to compare the onset of grade 2 oesophagitis with these variables. Results A total of 77 patients were included in the study. Twenty‐four (31%) patients reported grade 2 oesophagitis. There was a higher incidence of grade 2 oesophagitis in patients receiving a mean oesophageal dose of ≥31 Gy compared to those receiving < 31 Gy (18/24 versus 6/24, respectively, P = 0.025). There was a significant difference in the onset of grade 2 toxicity in patients who had ≥ 1 cm of pharynx included in SCF fields compared with those with <1 cm (15/24 versus 9/24, respectively, P = 0.0116). The odds ratios for developing grade 2 oesophagitis were 3.2 (95% CI = 1.05–9.62, P = 0.04) for a mean dose of ≥31 Gy and 3.4 (95% CI = 1.19–9.5, P = 0.022) for ≥1 cm of pharynx in the SCF field. Conclusion By limiting the mean dose to the irradiated oesophagus to <31 Gy during the planning process and ensuring that <1 cm of pharynx is included in the radiation field, oesophageal toxicity may be minimised.

Introduction: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are direct reports from patients about their health status. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are validated tools assessing PROs and completed by patients. Though commonly used in research, implementing PROMs into routine clinical care has been challenging. We aimed to examine health professionals' (HPs') perceptions of barriers and facilitators to PRO and PROM use in the routine care of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Methods: A custom survey was created, pilot-tested and disseminated to all HPs involved in the care of HNC patients in Western Sydney Local Health District, Australia. Participants were asked to rate the degree to which they believed the survey items were barriers or facilitators to routine PRO use by answering 'not at all', 'very little', 'quite a bit' and 'very much'. Results: Of 129 HPs, 86% had never routinely used PROs. Key barriers perceived were low workplace awareness of PROs (73%), HPs' lack of knowledge on PRO use (63%) and lack of PROMs in patient preferred languages (63%). Insufficient time, staff and infrastructure to support routine PRO collection and non-integrated PROMs in patient electronic medical records were also highlighted. Top facilitators were time for PRO administration and interpretation (86%), clear definition of staff roles (84%) and automatic scoring and interpretation of PROMs (81%). Conclusions: This study highlighted key barriers and facilitators to PRO use in routine HNC patient care as perceived by HPs. The findings will be useful in guiding the successful and sustainable implementation of routine PRO collection in clinical settings.

Introduction The multidisciplinary team meeting (MDTM) approach is accepted as standard of care to optimise treatment for patients diagnosed with cancer. This retrospective audit reviews the proportion of patients whose care is being discussed at cancer MDTMs within the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS). Methods Patients included were those diagnosed with cancer within the SCHHS between 2010 and 2015, and subsequently referred to a public MDTM for discussion. Data were extracted from the Queensland Cancer Control Analysis Team (QCCAT) database regarding the incidence of breast, lung, upper gastrointestinal (GI), colorectal, genitourinary and malignant haematological cancers and the number of patients referred to the corresponding MDTM. Results Data from 2015 show referral rates to MDTMs as follows: lung 100%, upper gastrointestinal 100%, colorectal 64%, breast 60%, malignant haematology 40% and genitourinary 28%. Of the genitourinary presentations, 70% were prostate cases and 14% bladder cases. Review of genitourinary MDTM outcomes found that, of the patients with prostate cancer discussed, 30% were metastatic, 19% were poor surgical candidates and 15% had biochemical recurrence. Conclusion This audit demonstrates variable utilisation of MDTMs between tumour streams. Our study shows a high and increasing referral rate to all tumour stream MDTMs except for genitourinary. This suggests a possible underutilisation of genitourinary MDTMs to discuss treatment options for patients with genitourinary cancer. Collaborative research is warranted to further investigate whether this is a local or widespread issue.

Background and purpose: Functional avoidance radiation therapy (RT) aims at sparing functional lung regions. The purpose of this simulation study was to evaluate the feasibility of functional lung avoidance methodology in RT of lung cancer and to characterize the achievable dosimetry of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) guided treatment planning. Materials and methods: Fifteen consecutive lung cancer patients were included and planned for definitive RT of 60-66 Gy in 2-Gy fractions. Two plans were optimized: a standard CT-plan, and functional SPECT-plan. The objective was to reduce dose to the highly functional lung subvolumes without compromising tumour coverage, and respecting dose to other organs at risk. For each patient a 3D-conformal, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy plans were created for standard and functional avoidance. Standard versus functional dose-volume parameters for functional lung (FL) subvolumes, organs at risk and tumour coverage were compared. Results: The largest dose reduction was achieved with IMRT plans. Functional plans resulted in dose reduction from 9.0 Gy to 6.7 Gy (mean reduction of 2.3 Gy or 26%) to the highest functional subvolume FL80% (95%CI 1.1; 3.5). Dose to FL40% was reduced from 13.3 Gy to 11.6 Gy with functional planning. Dose reduction to FL40% was 1.7 Gy (95%CI 0.9; 2.6). Functional volume of lung receiving over 20 Gy improved by 5% (standard 22%, functional 17%). Dose to organs at risk and tumour coverage were not significantly different between plans. Conclusions: SPECT/CT-guided planning resulted in improved dose-volumetric outcomes for functional lung. This methodology may lead to potential reduction in radiation-induced lung toxicity.

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