Radiation Therapy: Patient Reactions Show Best Treatment Options

A recent study helps to identify a preferred method of radiation therapy based on various patient's reactions to treatments.  

According to researchers from the North Shore-LIJ Health System Department of Radiation Medicine, they worked to determine the best course of radiation therapy based on patient's different experiences to treatments. Research conducted by North Shore-LIJ's radiation oncologists helped to evaluate the reliability of grading systems by independent caregivers.

The study assessed whether independent caregivers would assign the same grade to various adverse reactions using a common grading scheme.

For instance, images of breasts that had undergone radiation in 30 breast cancer patients on skin care protocols were presented to radiation oncologists and nurses who were then asked to provide feedback on an independent evaluation of the images and their choice of which treatment was most positive. These assessments were then analyzed based on the level of agreement among caregivers.

The researchers presented their findings at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology in Atlanta, GA., based on the use of Common-Terminology-Criteria-for-Adverse events (CTCAE) scale. The scale was developed by the National Cancer Institute in order to standardize the assignment of grades across various caregivers.  Their research involved an analysis of the comments that was provided by the caregivers, with findings that revealed a heavy reliance on the assessment criteria that's not necessarily explicit in grading definitions.

"Establishing the reliability of the scale used to assess adverse reactions among different caregivers is an important step to enhance uniformity and consistency of the care to our patients," said Ajay Kapur, PhD, lead author of the study and director of medical physics research and education in the North Shore-LIJ Department of Radiation Medicine, via a press release. "The specific grading scheme used must demonstrate a high level of reliability amongst various caregivers."

The senior author of the study and chair of radiation medicine goes on to discuss how communication is essential when determining the right care for certain patients.

"In order to deliver the highest quality of care to our patients, we all need to speak the same language," Louis Potters, MD, said, via the release.  "This study enhances our ability to provide Consistent care to all our patients and further validates the CTCAE grading system."

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