Dominik Wawrzuta, Radiation Oncologist at Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, shared on X:
“Can a single word influence cancer treatment preferences?
In our randomized experiment, calling the same treatment ‘radiotherapy’ rather than ‘radiation therapy’ increased preference for radiation treatment by 8.3 percentage points.
Just published in IJROBP with Katarzyna Ludwikowska and Justyna Klejdysz.”
To which, Rahul Banerjee, Associate Professor at Fred Hutch and the University of Washington, added:
“Not rose by any other name, but “RT” by any other name…
RCT of US adults (not pts) with cancer vignettes. Clear preference for ‘radiotherapy’ > ‘radiation therapy’.
I’m grateful to rad oncology colleagues who see many pts with multiple myeloma…
I’ll start using this term instead!”
Title: The Cost of a Word: Radiation Therapy vs Radiotherapy and Public Treatment Preferences
Authors: Dominik Wawrzuta, Katarzyna Ludwikowska, Justyna Klejdysz, Katarzyna Pędziwiatr, Marzanna Chojnacka.
You can also read: Radiation Therapy Toxicity Myth-Busting
