ESTRO 2022 - Abstract Book

S1605

Abstract book

ESTRO 2022

Results Four themes were identified: (i) informational needs, (ii) psychological experience, (iii) physical experience and (iv) coping strategies. Most of the patients felt unprepared and did not have a clear understanding of brachytherapy, describing it as a process of "cleansing the uterus”. The informational needs included: providing patients with treatment-related information; adequate information concerning pre-treatment preparation and scheduled appointments, possible side-effects and sexuality. Brachytherapy was a difficult experience causing fear and anxiety throughout treatment. Most women dreaded the procedure, before receiving the first treatment and even after having had one. Pain was a major problem for the participants. It started as soon as the spinal anesthesia wore off and persisted for hours and even days after the procedure. Some women compared this pain to childbirth, a process they preferred to brachytherapy. Patients agreed that the preventative medication received was not efficient to relieve the pain. Despite these negative experiences, patients were left with a positive outlook, saying it is a necessary treatment. Faith and spirituality gave them courage to endure the procedure. Dialogue with the healthcare professionals, envisaged outcomes and desires to heal were used to cope. Conclusion Women undergoing uterovaginal brachytherapy for cervical cancer experience pain and emotional distress. Providing patients with understandable information, more sensitive support during the procedure and debriefing afterwards could lessen feelings of fear and anxiety. Our findings highlight the importance of providing patients with informative material adapted to their needs and advocate for the revision of pain management protocols. Further studies should be carried out to define patient-centered recommendations and provide quality care to this group of women. T. Schneider 1 , R. Behrens 1 , F. Garcia-Yip 2 , K. Tanderup 3 , G. Kertzscher 4 , J. Johanson 4 , P. Georgi 4 , V. Blideanu 5 , C. Stien 6 , J. Plagnard 7 , J. Solc 8 , V. Sochor 9 , M. Pinto 10 , T. Sander 11 , A. Subiel 11 , C. Gouldstone 11 , L. de Prez 12 , F. Verhaegen 13 , B. Reniers 14 , P. Avilés Lucas 15 , Z. Msimang 16 , D.J. Eaton 17 , F. Weigand 18 , M.J. Rivard 19 1 Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Dosimetry for Brachytherapy, Braunschweig, Germany; 2 Physikalisch- Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Dosimetry for Brachytherapy , Braunschweig, Germany; 3 Aarhus University Hospital, Radiation Therapy, Aarhus, Denmark; 4 Aarhus University Hospital, Radiation Therapy , Aarhus, Denmark; 5 Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, CEA, Paris, France; 6 Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, CEA , Paris, France; 7 Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives , CEA , Paris, France; 8 Cesky Metrologicky Institut, CMI, Brno, Czech Republic; 9 Cesky Metrologicky Institut, CMI , Brno, Czech Republic; 10 Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l’Energia e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile (ENEA), Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle Radiazioni ionizzanti, Casaccia, Italy; 11 NPL Management Limited, NPL, Teddington, United Kingdom; 12 VSL B.V., VSL, Delft, The Netherlands; 13 Stichting Maastricht Radiation Oncology Maastro Clinic , MAASTRO clinic, Maastricht, The Netherlands; 14 Hasselt University, Universiteit Hasselt , Diepenbeek, Belgium; 15 National Metrology Institute of Spain, LMRI-CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain; 16 International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Wien, Austria; 17 Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, United Kingdom & School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, Department of Medical Physics, London, United Kingdom; 18 Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Meditec, Oberkochen, Germany; 19 Brown University, Dept. Radiation Oncology, Providence, RI,, USA Purpose or Objective Within the framework of the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR), six European National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) together with four additional partners from universities and clinics are collaborating in a Joint Research Project PRISM-eBT to establish a harmonised, simplified, and traceable dosimetry for electronic brachytherapy (eBT) in terms of absorbed dose to water. WP1’s aim is to establish primary standards for the absorbed dose rate to water for eBT devices at 1 cm depth in water, and to establish transfer instruments and corresponding measurement procedures for the dissemination of this quantity to clinical practice. In WP2, a dosimetric methodology for skin eBT is being established with traceability to a primary standard developed in WP1. In WP3, detectors and measurement instruments suitable for the determination of 3D dose distributions in water by eBT devices are characterised to develop a standardised traceable calibration process. With these detectors, traceable dosimetry to determine 3D dose distributions in water is being established in WP4 to provide availability for the end-user community. Materials and Methods The project is composed of four Workpackages (WP): Results Established primary standards, methodologies for traceability, and detectors characterization are highlighted and discussed in the presentation. E.g. a catalogue of eBT and eBT-equivalent X-ray photon fluence spectra was compiled from data available in literature, obtained from manufacturers, and measured or created during the project. The catalogue is available on the project website and it provides a basis for spectrometry and dosimetry of eBT sources. Using a plastic scintillator detector, the Poster (digital): Brachytherapy: Physics PO-1801 Primary standards and measurement methods for X-ray emitting electronic BT devices PRISM-eBT