Table 3.
Prompts regarding the toxicity of RT.
| Prompt | ROs (n=22) | MS1s (n=315) | MS4s (n=404) | PCPs (n=43) | MS4s or PCPs with RO rotation in med school (n=42) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n answering “YES” | n answering “NO” | Agreement | n answering “YES” | % answering correctly | Chi-squared p-value | 95% CI | n answering “YES” | % answering correctly | Chi-squared p-value | 95% CI | n answering “YES” | % answering correctly | Chi-squared p-value | 95% CI | n answering “YES” | % answering correctly | Chi-squared p-value | 95% CI | ||||||
| Patients emit low-level radiation from the treatment site for a brief period after external beam radiation therapy. | 0 | 22 | 100% | 183 | 42% | <0.0001 | 0.36 | 0.47 | 211 | 51% | <0.0001 | 0.47 | 0.56 | 18 | 66% | 0.002 | 0.53 | 0.79 | 6 | 86% | 0.23 | 0.75 | 0.96 | |
| During external beam radiation treatments, patients are able to feel/sense the radiation. | 1 | 21 | 95% | 73 | 77% | 0.041 | 0.72 | 0.81 | 82 | 81% | 0.09 | 0.77 | 0.85 | 13 | 75% | 0.043 | 0.64 | 0.87 | 3 | 93% | 0.68 | 0.81 | 0.99 | |
| For prostate cancer, the common side effects of radiation therapy typically include (select any of the following): | • Hair loss on the head | 0 | 22 | 100% | 103 | 67% | 0.001 | 0.62 | 0.72 | 45 | 90% | 0.11 | 0.87 | 0.93 | 1 | 98% | 0.51 | 0.90 | 1.00 | 0 | 0% | 0.23 | 0.92 | 1.00 |
| • Urinary urgency or frequency | 22 | 0 | 100% | 193 | 61% | 0.0003 | 0.56 | 0.67 | 296 | 68% | 0.0015 | 0.64 | 0.72 | 48 | 91% | 0.13 | 0.83 | 0.98 | 38 | 90% | 0.68 | 0.82 | 0.99 | |
| • Risk of infection due to bone marrow suppression | 0 | 22 | 100% | 151 | 52% | <0.0001 | 0.47 | 0.58 | 106 | 76% | 0.008 | 0.72 | 0.80 | 6 | 89% | 0.1 | 0.80 | 0.97 | 2 | 95% | 0.3 | 0.84 | 0.99 | |
| • Second cancer formation | 2 | 20 | 91% | 135 | 57% | 0.002 | 0.52 | 0.63 | 207 | 52% | 0.0004 | 0.48 | 0.57 | 8 | 85% | 0.45 | 0.75 | 0.95 | 10 | 76% | 0.15 | 0.63 | 0.89 | |
| • Neurocognitive impairment | 0 | 22 | 100% | 34 | 89% | 0.1 | 0.86 | 0.93 | 26 | 94% | 0.24 | 0.92 | 0.96 | 2 | 96% | 0.36 | 0.87 | 1.00 | 1 | 98% | 0.46 | 0.87 | 1.00 | |
| • Skin redness or tanning | 1 | 21 | 95% | 213 | 32% | <0.0001 | 0.27 | 0.38 | 326 | 25% | <0.0001 | 0.21 | 0.29 | 37 | 30% | <0.0001 | 0.18 | 0.43 | 31 | 26% | <0.0001 | 0.13 | 0.39 | |
| After radiation therapy, the risk of developing a radiation-induced cancer (in one’s lifetime) is about: | • < 2% per year | 22 | 0 | 100% | 132 | 42% | <0.0001 | 0.36 | 0.47 | 267 | 61% | 0.0002 | 0.57 | 0.66 | 34 | 64% | 0.001 | 0.51 | 0.77 | 36 | 86% | 0.06 | 0.75 | 0.96 |
| • 5 – 10% per year | 0 | 121 | 139 | 14 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| • 20 – 30% per year | 0 | 33 | 13 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| • 50 – 70% per year | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| • > 80% per year | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
Abbreviations: CI: confidence interval; MS1: first year medical student; MS4: fourth year medical student; PCP: primary care physician; RO: radiation oncologist/oncology; RT: radiation therapy
Note: p-values < 0.05 are in red boxes; others are in green.