Frontiers in Oncology (Sep 2020)

Patient-Reported Tolerance of Magnetic Resonance-Guided Radiation Therapy

  • Mutlay Sayan,
  • Ilkay Serbez,
  • Bilgehan Teymur,
  • Gokhan Gur,
  • Teuta Zoto Mustafayev,
  • Gorkem Gungor,
  • Banu Atalar,
  • Enis Ozyar

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.01782
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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PurposeMagnetic resonance-guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) has been incorporated into a growing number of clinical practices world-wide, however, there is limited data on patient experiences with MRgRT. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate patient tolerance of MRgRT using patient reported outcome questionnaires (PRO-Q).MethodsNinety patients were enrolled in this prospective observational study and treated with MRgRT (MRIdian Linac System, ViewRay Inc. Oakwood Village, OH, United States) between September 2018 and September 2019. Breath-hold-gated dose delivery with audiovisual feedback was completed as needed. Patients completed an in-house developed PRO-Q after the first and last fraction of MRgRT.ResultsThe most commonly treated anatomic sites were the abdomen (47%) and pelvis (33%). Respiratory gating was utilized in 62% of the patients. Patients rated their experience as positive or at least tolerable with mean scores of 1.0–2.8. The most common complaint was the temperature in the room (61%) followed by paresthesias (57%). The degree of anxiety reported by 45% of the patients significantly decreased at the completion of treatment (mean score 1.54 vs. 1.36, p = 0.01). Forty-three percent of the patients reported some degree of disturbing noise which was improved considerably by use of music. All patients appreciated their active role during the treatment.ConclusionThis evaluation of PROs indicates that MRgRT was well-tolerated by our patients. Patients’ experience may further improve with adjustment of room temperature and noise reduction.

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