4: Patterns of Care Among Canadian Radiation Oncologists and Urologists Related to Post-Operative Radiotherapy for Patients with Prostate Cancer

Abstract Background Emerging moderately hypofractionated and ultra-hypofractionated schemes for radiotherapy (RT) of prostate cancer (PC) have resulted in various treatment options. The aim of this survey was to evaluate recent patterns of care of German-speaking radiation oncologists for RT of PC. Methods We developed an online survey which we distributed via e‑mail to all registered members of the German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO). The survey was completed by 109 participants between March 3 and April 3, 2020. For evaluation of radiation dose, we used the equivalent dose at fractionation of 2 Gy with α/β = 1.5 Gy, equivalent dose (EQD2 [1.5 Gy]). Results Median EQD2(1.5 Gy) for definitive RT of the prostate is 77.60 Gy (range: 64.49–84.00) with median single doses (SD) of 2.00 Gy (range: 1.80–3.00), while for postoperative RT of the prostate bed, median EQD2(1.5 Gy) is 66.00 Gy (range: 60.00–74.00) with median SD of 2.00 Gy (range: 1.80–2.00). For definitive RT, the pelvic lymph nodes (LNs) are treated in case of suspect findings in imaging (82.6%) and/or according to risk formulas/tables (78.0%). In the postoperative setting, 78.9% use imaging and 78.0% use the postoperative tumor stage for LN irradiation. In the definitive and postoperative situation, LNs are irradiated with a median EQD2(1.5 Gy) of 47.52 Gy with a range of 42.43–66.00 and 41.76–62.79, respectively. Conclusion German-speaking radiation oncologists’ patterns of care for patients with PC are mainly in line with the published data and treatment recommendation guidelines. However, dose prescription is highly heterogenous for RT of the prostate/prostate bed, while the dose to the pelvic LNs is mainly consistent.

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Patterns of prostate cancer management across Canadian prostate cancer treatment specialists.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2018.36.6_suppl.321 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (6_suppl) ◽

pp. 321-321

Author(s):

Bobby Shayegan ◽

Alan I. So ◽

Shawn Malone ◽

Sebastien J. Hotte ◽

Antonio Finelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prostate Cancer ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Advanced Prostate Cancer ◽

Patterns Of Care ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Prostate Cancer Treatment ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cancer Management ◽

Radiation Oncologists ◽

Medical Oncologists

321 Background: The Canadian GU Research Consortium (GURC) was recently established to bring comprehensive prostate cancer centres together to collaborate on research, education, and adoption of best practices. As an initial step to inform the work of the GURC, an electronic questionnaire was designed to assess management of advanced prostate cancer care in Canada and better understand patterns of care. Methods: A 59-item online questionnaire was developed by a multidisciplinary scientific committee to measure physician practices, patterns of care, treatment sequencing, and management of mCRPC. After pre-testing, the online questionnaire was sent to 93 urologists, uro-oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and general practitioner oncologists who are actively involved in the treatment of prostate cancer. Results: A total of 49 (53%) respondents completed the questionnaire between April 17, 2017 to May 17, 2017. Although all respondents indicated a role in initiating life-prolonging oral therapy for mCRPC and monitoring treatment and side effects, chemotherapy initiation was mainly a medical oncologist role compared to other specialties (p < 0.05, chi-square). Symptom management such as palliative care and end-of-life care were provided mainly by radiation oncologists (100%) and medical oncologists (81%) compared to urologists (33%) and uro-oncologists (50%), p < 0.05, chi-square). Patient mix varied across the disciplines. Urologist practices were composed primarily of non-metastatic prostate cancer patients (73%), as were radiation oncologist practices (77%), while uro-oncologist practices included both non-metastatic (58%) and metastatic (40%) patients. Medical oncologists practices were mainly (91%) metastatic patients. Referral patterns also varied by discipline. Conclusions: In Canada, prostate cancer treatment involves multiple disciplines providing a range of care at different points across the treatment continuum. We plan to do further research to better understand variation in practice and improve multidisciplinary coordination for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

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