Authors
Ulrika Rönningås, Lars Beckman, Anna-Karin Wennstig, Per Fransson
Published in
Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. Pages 111780. Sep 13, 2026. Epub Sep 13, 2026.
Abstract
Patient-reported outcome measures are recommended for monitoring treatment-related symptoms during radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer (PC). However, agreement between patient- and clinician-reported symptoms is often low. This study aimed to evaluate agreement between patient- and clinician-reported symptoms before and after radiotherapy for prostate cancer.
This sub-study of the HYPO-RT-PC trial included 1,180 men with PC randomized to conventional (2.0 Gy × 39 fx) or ultra-hypofractionated (6.1 Gy × 7 fx) RT between 2005 and 2015. Urinary, bowel, and sexual symptoms were assessed using the Prostate Cancer Symptom Scale questionnaire at baseline, at the end of RT, and at 1, 2, and 4 years post-treatment; clinicians evaluated symptoms at the same intervals using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale.
At each follow-up, 580-910 paired assessments were analyzed. Spearman's correlation between patient and clinician ratings ranged from -0.091 to 0.750. Clinicians consistently underrated urinary and bowel symptoms, overrated sexual activity, but results for erectile dysfunction were inconsistent.
Agreement between patient- and clinician-reported RT-related symptoms was generally poor. These discrepancies highlight the limitations of relying solely on clinician assessment. They also underscore the need to integrate patient-reported outcome measures systematically into clinical practice and research to ensure accurate symptom monitoring and patient-centered care.
PMID:
42732820
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Sep 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 12
- Comments 0