ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4191

RTT - Patient experience and quality of life

ESTRO 2025

3612

Mini-Oral A qualitative evaluation of patient experience of MRI within the non-small cell lung cancer pathway. Sarah-Jane Ketterer 1 , Neeraj Bhalla 2 , Faye Harvey 2 , Louise Turtle 2 , Mark Warren 1 1 Therapeutic Radiography & Oncology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom. 2 Radiotherapy, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Liverpool, United Kingdom Purpose/Objective: Magnetic Resonance imaging-guided linear accelerators (MR-Linacs) afford the opportunity to reduce treatment margins through additional or extended imaging without additional radiation doses associated with CT. There is some evidence that MR-guided treatments are well tolerated by cancer patients, but for lung cancer patients, who may have poor performance status and co-morbidities, there is a need to get detailed qualitative data on the experience of MRI. It is also necessary to understand how patient experiences of MR imaging can be used to help design new adaptive interventions for lung cancer patients. This aim of this study is to explore the experience of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients during MRI. Material/Methods: Ten stage I-IV NSCLC patients agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews after undergoing two MRI sessions, as part of a clinical study to assess effectiveness of using MRI for guiding radiotherapy at treatment planning, or during treatment delivery. Areas of focus for the interviews included. • How comfortable are volunteers during imaging sessions? • What considerations do patients feel are important for implementing lung cancer treatments on the MR Linac? The interviews were transcribed, and thematic analysis undertaken to achieve an understanding of common themes within the data. Results: The predominant themes were comfort, compliance and communication. 80% of participants experienced some level of discomfort during the MRIs, primarily linked to maintaining an elevated arm position for more than 15 minutes. However, participants were focused on the perceived benefits of MRI, indicating a desire to avoid interruptions and to persevere with the process, rating this as the most significant factor in their continued compliance. Environmental issues, such as noise from the scanner and room temperature, also contributed to comfort levels and were important considerations in improving experience. Patients highlighted the positive impact of clear communication from staff throughout the process on improving their overall experience. Communicating the potential benefits of the scan was perceived as important for implementing new MR-Linac treatments. Conclusion: Results highlight that lung cancer patients’ experience of MRI is significantly influenced by comfort and the desire to comply with processes perceived as being beneficial to treatment. Patients place a high value on supportive communication from the clinical team. The integration of MRI within the lung cancer treatment pathway was seen as feasible by participants, even by those who indicated they struggled with extended imaging times. • From a patient perspective, could the experience within MRI be improved (and how)?

Keywords: MRI, Lung Cancer, Patient Experience