Patterns of breast cancer radiotherapy practices among Saudi radiation oncologists

OBJECTIVES: To identify practice patterns among radiation oncologists in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A questionnaire comprising 27 scientific questions and 6 demographic questions was created in 2019 by a faculty member at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and distributed among radiation oncologists in Saudi Arabia between February and April 2019. RESULTS: Twenty-four responses were received. Regarding chest wall treatment after mastectomy, 100% of the respondents offered postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for tumor stage 3 node 1 (T3N1) or T4 disease, while 87.5% offered PMRT for T2N1, and 83.3% offered PMRT for T3N0 disease. In contrast, there was a lack of consensus regarding treatment planning and coverage criteria for internal mammary lymph nodes and contouring. CONCLUSION: Variations in breast radiotherapy practices in Saudi Arabia exist due to the lack of clinical evidence and national guidelines, as well as potential variations in health resources allocation. Resource allocations and the establishment of national guidelines are recommended to decrease this variation and allow for data exchange and the development of national research collaborations.