Vaginal cuff brachytherapy practice in endometrial cancer patients: a report from the Turkish Oncology Group

Abstract

Purpose: The American Brachytherapy Association is attempting to develop standards for delivering brachytherapy, although differences in practice have been reported in the literature. This study evaluated vaginal cuff brachytherapy (VBT) practice and quality of life-related recommendations among Turkish radiation oncologists.

Material and methods: A nationwide web-based 17-item survey was distributed to the members of the Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology. These members received e-mail notifications, and a link was posted on the Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology internet site to solicit voluntary responses The survey addressed the simulation processes, target volume, prescribed dose, delivery schedules, and recommendations related to vaginal side effects.

Results: Fifty-seven radiation oncologists responded to the survey. The most used dose fraction schemes for adjuvant VBT were 7 Gy x 3 fractions (30%), 5.5 Gy x 5 fractions (26%), and 6 Gy x 5 fractions (28%). The preferred VBT scheme was 5 Gy x 3 fractions (50%) when the external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) dose was 45 Gy external radiotherapy, while the preferred schemes were 6 Gy x 3 fractions (30%) or 5 Gy x 3 fractions (32%) when the external radiotherapy dose was increased to 50.4 Gy. One-half of the respondents delivered VBT twice a week, and the dose was prescribed to 0.5 cm from vaginal mucosa by 86% of the respondents. There was no common definition for the dose prescription length, which was defined as 3 cm from the vaginal cuff in 33% of responses and as 4 cm in 35% of responses. For serous and clear cell histological types, 38% of the respondents targeted "full cylinder length". To prevent vaginal side effects, 78% of the respondents recommended using a vaginal dilator and/or sexual intercourse after VBT.

Conclusions: This survey revealed variations in the clinical practice of VBT among Turkish radiation oncologists, which suggests that standardization is necessary.