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Sandy Srinivas, MD
Sandy Srinivas, MD
Posted: Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Lisa M. Gudenkauf, PhD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, and colleagues have developed a patient-reported questionnaire to assess how radionuclide therapy affects the quality of life of patients with prostate cancer. The Moffitt team, who published its study findings in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, has successfully created a standardized tool to measure relevant symptoms and toxicities of radionuclide therapy. Given that the treatment was associated with different adverse effects from those of the standard treatment of prostate cancer, the investigators wanted to better understand its impact on patients’ health and well-being. Clinicians could then incorporate these measures into clinical decision-making and guide treatment planning.
“We were thorough in determining which symptoms and side effects are important to patients receiving [radionuclide therapy] for prostate cancer,” said Dr. Gudenkauf in a Moffitt Cancer Center press release. Next steps include assessment of internal consistency, validity, and reliability of this tool and use in radionuclide clinical trials and real-world settings.
The authors identified relevant toxicities and symptoms from published trials with this type of therapy. A total of 79 phase I trials focused on the use of 177-Lu–PSMA-617 or 225-Ac-J591 radionuclide therapies. They also spoke to 29 patients who had undergone radionuclide therapy as well as 11 clinicians and 14 caregivers. Then they selected items to include in the questionnaire based on these findings. The brief 15-item questionnaire deemed pertinent in the setting of radionuclide therapy for prostate cancer is called the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Radionuclide Therapy (FACT-RNT). The questionnaire addresses common symptoms such as dry mouth, nausea, loss of appetite, bone pain, fatigue, and isolation due to illness and treatment.
According to the investigators, the FACT-RNT may allow clinicians and caregivers to better understand how radionuclide therapy impacts patients’ quality of life and improves outcomes. In addition, they hope, it may help to provide more patient-centered care.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit jnm.snmjournals.org.
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine
