Decisions regarding radiotherapy used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Decisions regarding radiotherapy used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma: patients’ and clinicians’ perspectives
IRAS ID
284950
Contact name
Rebecca Shakir
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Clinical Trials and Research Governance, University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a cancer of the lymphatic system. People of all ages are diagnosed with HL, but it most commonly affects young adults. The usual treatment is chemotherapy, often followed by radiotherapy. Treatment of HL is usually very successful and 8 in 10 people are cured. These people normally live long after their treatment has finished. The radiotherapy used to cure HL can result in serious long-term side-effects. These include heart disease, stroke and other new cancers. However, recent research has shown that if radiotherapy isn’t used, the chance of cure is significantly lower.
The risks of radiotherapy vary between individuals. They depend on the age and gender of the patient, and what areas of the body are affected, and therefore require radiotherapy. Currently there is no way to accurately predict the risks for an individual. This study is part of a larger piece of work which is developing a decision support tool to present individualised risks for use by clinicians together with patients when considering radiotherapy as part of the treatment of HL.
The aim of this study is to explore patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experience of the radiotherapy decision making process, and to better understand their information needs and preferences regarding shared decision making in this context. We will undertake semi-structured interviews with patients and healthcare professionals to understand the dynamics of decision making surrounding treatment decisions in HL, how people with HL make sense of the factors that are important to them when they make decisions, and any interactional difficulties that there may be. We hope to gain an deeper understanding of the factors influencing preferences regarding treatment options, and views on decision support tools. We will use the data gathered from this study in the iterative design of the decision support tool.REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
20/NS/0118
Date of REC Opinion
12 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion