ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4160

RTT - Patient experience and quality of life

ESTRO 2025

1087

Digital Poster The impact of using hypofractionated protocols on reducing travel burden and improving patient satisfaction: Less is more when more is too much Zaheeda Mulla 1 , Hiba Taha 1 , Wsam A Ghandourh 2 , Rania M Hashem 3 , Majd A Alotaibi 1 , Hanadi F Habibullah 1 , Hatim Z Almarzouki 4 , Zayd Jastaniah 3 1 Oncology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 2 Health Care Management, Umm Al-Qura University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 3 Radiology, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 4 Radiology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Purpose/Objective: Despite rising cancer incidence and mortality in Saudi Arabia, access to radiotherapy (RT) services is limited in some regions due to significant disparities in healthcare infrastructure (Figure 1). This study aimed to examine the travel burdens of RT patients and assess the benefits of hypofractionated RT (HFRT).

Material/Methods: This multicenter study included patients with breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC) treated with HFRT (26Gy/5F for BC and 60Gy/20F for PC) between 2020 and 2024 at the RT unit. Patient demographic data, disease, and treatment information were extracted from the Hospital Information System and electronic treatment chart in the Mosaiq record and verify system. A validated questionnaire designed by Patel et al . was translated into Arabic by an official Arabic translator after receiving confirmed approval from the primary author. The survey assessed patient experience and financial burdens. Patients were initially contacted by phone to inform them about the survey, and upon their consent, the electronic survey was sent to them via text message. The database automatically generated from online responses was translated into English, cleaned, and coded. Google Maps was utilized to calculate the shortest driving distance between a patient's home address and the RT centre. Descriptive statistics compared accommodation, transportation costs, and time expenditure for HFRT versus conventionally fractionated RT.