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PROACTA: a survey on the actual attitude of the Italian radiation oncologists in the management and prescription of hormonal therapy in prostate cancer patients

  • Radiotherapy
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Abstract

Aim

To investigate the actual attitude of Radiation Oncologists in the prescription of hormonal therapy in prostate cancer (PC) with or without Radiation Therapy (RT).

Materials and methods

In 2019, a survey named Prescription of Radiation Oncologists ACtual Attitude including 18 items was sent to all Italian Radiation Oncologists of the Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology. The first 4 items were about the Radiation Oncology Centers characteristics and years of practice of the respondents. The remaining 14 items concerned the setting in which hormone therapy was prescribed in PC patients (radical, postprostatectomy/oligometastatic state), the kind of drug, the choice modality (Multidisciplinary Group/autonomy decision) and other factors.

Results

A total of 127 questionnaires were returned, mainly by Northern Italy Radiation Oncology Centres (44.9%), and by experienced Radiation Oncologists (78%), who declared to prescribe independently hormone therapy in 85.8% of cases. The Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) prescription in castration naive PC was made independently by 56.7% of respondents and associated with radical RT, postoperative or salvage RT according to various risk factors. In castration-sensitive oligorecurrent PC, the majority (51.2%) administered ADT only if local ablative treatment was not feasible, while in metastatic castration resistant disease novel hormone therapy use was established in almost half of cases within multidisciplinary board. Radiation Oncologists could prescribe these drugs independently in 64% of cases.

Conclusion

Our survey established the prescription attitude of ADT and new hormonal agents (abiraterone, enzalutamide, apalutamide) by Italian Radiation Oncologists and highlighted the importance of expertise in global PC management.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiation Oncology Department, Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari, Ospedale S.Chiara, Largo Medaglie d’oro, 9, 38122, Trento, Italy

    Sergio Fersino

  2. Radiotherapy Unit- Ospedale S. Donato e Santa Maria alla Gruccia, Azienda USL Toscana Sud, Arezzo, Italy

    Simona Borghesi

  3. Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Barbara Alicja Jereczek-Fossa

  4. Division of Radiotherapy, IEO European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy

    Barbara Alicja Jereczek-Fossa

  5. UOC Radioterapia ASST Monza, Università di Milano, Bicocca, Italy

    Stefano Arcangeli

  6. Department of Radiation Oncology, ARNAS Ospedale Civico, Palermo, Italy

    Gianluca Mortellaro

  7. Department of Radiation Oncology, University and Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy

    Stefano Maria Magrini

  8. Advanced Radiation Oncology Department, IRCCS Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria, Negrar-Verona, Italy

    Filippo Alongi

  9. University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Filippo Alongi

Authors
  1. Sergio Fersino
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  2. Simona Borghesi
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  3. Barbara Alicja Jereczek-Fossa
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  4. Stefano Arcangeli
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  5. Gianluca Mortellaro
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  6. Stefano Maria Magrini
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  7. Filippo Alongi
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Uro-Oncology study group of Italian association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO)

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Correspondence to Sergio Fersino.

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Fersino, S., Borghesi, S., Jereczek-Fossa, B.A. et al. PROACTA: a survey on the actual attitude of the Italian radiation oncologists in the management and prescription of hormonal therapy in prostate cancer patients. Radiol med 126, 460–465 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-020-01264-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-020-01264-1

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