ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S976

Clinical – Head & neck

ESTRO 2025

1373

Digital Poster Navigating neurocognition; feasibility of online neurocognitive assessment in survivors of oropharyngeal cancer Zsuzsanna Iyizoba-Ebozue 1,2 , Emma Nicklin 2 , James Price 3 , Robin Prestwich 1 , Sarah Brown 4 , Emma Hall 5 , John Lilley 6 , Matthew Lowe 7 , Finbar Slevin 2,1 , David Thomson 8,9 , Florien Boele 2,10 , Louise Murray 1,2 1 Clinical Oncology, Leeds Cancer Center, Leeds, United Kingdom. 2 Leeds Institute of Medical Research, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 3 Clinical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom. 4 Leeds Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 5 The Institute of Cancer Research, 7The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom. 6 Radiotherapy Physics, Leeds Cancer Center, Leeds, United Kingdom. 7 Medical Physics and Engineering, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom. 8 Clinical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom. 9 Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. 10 Academic Unit of Health Economics, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom Purpose/Objective: Neurocognitive function (NCF) is a key outcome following cancer treatment, impacting quality of life and societal functioning [1]. NCF decline following radiotherapy for head and neck cancers (HNC), especially in nasopharyngeal and paranasal sinus cancers, is increasingly recognised[2,3]. However, data on NCF in other HNC subsites remains limited. To assess NCF in research settings, trained personnel supervised by a neuropsychologist administer tests in a controlled, face-to-face environment, with sessions lasting from one to several hours. This is resource intensive and hard to standardise, with alternative solutions in the form of unsupervised online NCF testing platforms emerging. The patient perspective on such an approach has not been widely explored. We therefore examined the user experience of NCF assessment using an online cognitive test battery (the Amsterdam Cognition Scan) in patients treated for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Material/Methods: Qualitative interviews were performed in a subset of patients, previously irradiated for OPC who had completed the ACS during their participation in either i)the cross-sectional observational study (ROC-oN; Radiotherapy for Oropharyngeal Cancer and impact on Neurocognition) or ii)the prospective randomised trial(NOC-Rad: Neurocognition in Oropharyngeal Cancer following Radiotherapy) comparing proton to photon radiotherapy. Some participants also experienced traditional face-to-face neurocognitive assessment. Purposive sampling was adopted to obtain a varied participant sample, and interviews conducted by telephone or online video platform, dependent on participant preference. Interviews were semi-structured and reflexive thematic analysis performed. Results: 34 interviews (table 1) lasting on average 41mins were conducted. Findings were organised into four themes, each with 2 sub-themes (table2 ): 1)Permissible (awareness and engagement): NCF assessment was acceptable, and participants engaged readily with the ACS 2)Performance (performance anxiety and performance feedback): performance anxiety emerged as a common thread , with participants expressing a desire for feedback on how they had done 3)Platform (accessibility and ease of use): online assessment improved accessibility for many and the ACS was easy to navigate for users, but posed a barrier for those with limited IT skills. 4)Preference (personal choice and comparative effectiveness): preference for face-to-face or online assessment appeared largely driven by personal choice, as assessment was perceived to be similar with both methods