Oncologists’ Perspectives on Consolidation Radiation Treatment after Chemotherapy in Lymphoma: A Survey Study by the Lymphoma Working Committee of the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG)

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to determine the perspectives of medical and radiation oncologists on consolidation radiotherapy in patients with complete response after chemotherapy in Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The survey was designed to identify demographic and occupational features of medical and radiation oncologists and their perspectives on consolidation radiotherapy in their clinical practices, as based on a five-point Likert scale (never, rarely, sometimes, often, and always). The study consisted of 263, out of 935, physicians working in the oncology field as either a medical or a radiation oncologist; the rate of return on the invitations to participate was 28%. The majority of the participants were male radiation oncologists, with a duration of between 5 and 10 years of work as a university hospital official, and the mean age was 38 ± 14 (years). Although the most commonly followed international guidelines were NCCN, among the physicians, the majority of the respondents suggested that the guidelines were unclear regarding recommendations for consolidative radiotherapy. The administered dose for consolidative radiotherapy in patients with lymphoma was indicated as 40 Gy by 49% of all the physicians and the most common cause of hesitancy from consolidative radiation treatment among the physicians was the risk of secondary malignancies as a long-term adverse effect (54%). In conclusion, we suggested that medical oncologists could be most active on the treatment of lymphoma through a continuous training program about lymphomas and current national guidelines.