ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4187

RTT - Patient experience and quality of life

ESTRO 2025

radiation volumes. Despite this intervention, some patients still experience significant weight loss from baseline. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of patients with head and neck cancer who experienced ≥5% weight loss during radiotherapy. Material/Methods: A retrospective medical chart audit was conducted, including all patients who completed radiotherapy for head and neck cancer at Aalborg University Hospital between March 2022 and March 2024. Data were collected in a REDCap database on variables including age, sex, diagnosis, HPV status, chemotherapy, feeding tube, height, weight, marital status, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Characteristics of patients with weight loss ≥5% and <5% were compared using Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney U test or unpaired t-test for continuous variables. Weight loss as a continuous variable was compared between patients with and without HPV using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The study included data from 95 patients (71 males, 24 females) with head and neck cancer involving the oropharynx (42), oral cavity (8), larynx (30), hypopharynx (12), or other sites (3). All patients completed radiotherapy with curative intent at a prescribed dose of 66-68 Gy. Within the group 34% lost ≥5% of their baseline body weight. A statistically significant association was identified between weight loss ≥5% and the characteristics of concomitant chemotherapy (p=0.005), higher baseline BMI (p=0.022), and presence of a feeding tube (p=0.014). Additionally, patients with HPV-positive tumors experienced significantly higher weight loss than those with HPV-negative tumors (p= 0.005). Conclusion: Treatment-related factors and HPV status appeared to have a greater impact on weight loss than lifestyle factors, such as smoking or alcohol consumption. Further research is needed to explore why patients with these characteristics are at higher risk of weight loss during radiotherapy. This insight is crucial for improving multidisciplinary nutritional interventions and preventing weight loss in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Digital Poster Implementation of Inclusive Pregnancy Status (IPS): A single centre experience DIane Holland 1,2 , Norma Higgins 1 , Oonagh Maguire 1 , Una McElroy 1 , Emma Morrow 1 , Lindsey McMullan 1 , Hannah Cahill 1 , Helen Vennard 1 , Melanie Hanna 1 , Brona Carlon 1 , Linda Young 1 , Shirley Gray 1 , Carrie Carson 1 1 BHSCT, NHS, Belfast, United Kingdom. 2 BHSCT, Friends of the cancer centre, Belfast, United Kingdom Purpose/Objective: Transgender, non-binary and intersex (TNBI) individuals often experience worse health outcomes compared to cis gender people. Despite an increase in awareness around TNBI in healthcare, gaps in knowledge remain, this can have a serious consequences in radiotherapy e.g. unintended exposure of an unborn child. To address these gaps in knowledge the Society of radiographers (SOR) developed ‘inclusive pregnancy status guidelines for ionising radiation’ (SOR, 2021) to minimize risk of inadvertently exposing a foetus to ionizing radiation by identifying patients who have childbearing potential. As highlighted by the Care Quality Commission 2019/2020 annual IRMER report, not giving patients the opportunity to disclose sufficient information, or not asking them what gender they were registered with at birth, could result in an avoidable radiation incident (CQC 2020). Keywords: Head and neck cancer, weightloss, radiotherapy 3384