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Cancers
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Palliative Radiotherapy of Cancer
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Palliative Radiotherapy of Cancer

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2025) | Viewed by 459

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alessio Giuseppe Morganti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Radiation Oncology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), Alma Mater Studiorum-Bologna University, Bologna, Italy
Interests: rectal cancer; pancreatic cancer; biliary cancer; prostate cancer; uterine cancer; palliative radiotherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Costanza Maria Donati

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Radiation Oncology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), Alma Mater Studiorum-Bologna University, Bologna, Italy
Interests: palliative radiotherapy; pediatric radiotherapy; palliative pediatric radiotherapy; oligometastatic cancer; stereotactic body radiation therapy; supportive care; analgesic treatments; palliative care
Dr. Romina Rossi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: palliative radiotherapy; integration of palliative care into oncology and radiotherapy; early palliative care; prognostication in advanced cancer
Dr. Marco Maltoni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Interests: symptom burden; decision making process; early palliative care; end-of-life aggressiveness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Palliative radiotherapy plays a critical role in alleviating symptoms and improving the quality of life for cancer patients, particularly those with advanced or metastatic disease. Recent advancements in radiotherapy techniques have enhanced the precision of treatments, reducing side effects while optimizing symptom relief.

This Special Issue will focus on optimizing the efficacy and accessibility of palliative radiotherapy. We welcome contributions on modern radiotherapy techniques, predictive models for treatment outcomes, and the integration of radiotherapy with comprehensive palliative care. Additionally, addressing barriers to accessing palliative radiotherapy and strategies to overcome these challenges will be of great interest.

We invite both original research and literature reviews to further expand the understanding and application of palliative radiotherapy in cancer care.

Prof. Dr. Alessio Giuseppe Morganti
Dr. Costanza Maria Donati
Dr. Romina Rossi
Dr. Marco Maltoni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • palliative radiotherapy
  • cancer pain management
  • advanced radiotherapy techniques
  • multidisciplinary cancer care
  • stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)
  • quality of life in cancer
  • cancer symptom management

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

14 pages, 280 KB  
Review
Patient Education and Communication in Palliative Radiotherapy: A Narrative Review
by Erika Galietta, Costanza M. Donati, Filippo Mammini, Arina A. Zamfir, Alberto Bazzocchi, Rebecca Sassi, Renée Hovenier, Clemens Bos, Milly Buwenge, Silvia Cammelli, Helena M. Verkooijen and Alessio G. Morganti
Cancers 2025, 17(19), 3109; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17193109 - 24 Sep 2025
Viewed by 109
Abstract
Palliative radiotherapy (PRT) is central to symptom control in advanced cancer, yet referrals are often late, and patients and clinicians frequently hold misconceptions about intent, benefits, and logistics. Patient education may address these gaps, but the PRT-specific evidence base has not been consolidated. [...] Read more.
Palliative radiotherapy (PRT) is central to symptom control in advanced cancer, yet referrals are often late, and patients and clinicians frequently hold misconceptions about intent, benefits, and logistics. Patient education may address these gaps, but the PRT-specific evidence base has not been consolidated. We conducted a narrative review following SANRA guidance. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for English-language studies from 1 January 2000 to 18 July 2025. Eligible articles evaluated structured patient-education interventions or characterized education or communication content, information needs, or decision processes among adults referred to or receiving PRT. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data. Owing to heterogeneity of designs and endpoints, we performed a narrative synthesis without meta-analysis. Six studies met criteria: two randomized controlled trials, two prospective pre–post studies, one qualitative interview study, and one observational communication study, conducted in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong. Education at referral or consultation improved knowledge, reduced decisional uncertainty, and increased readiness to proceed with PRT. Education integrated with treatment improved symptom outcomes, including higher rates of pain control at 12 weeks and faster time to pain control when a nurse-led pain-education program accompanied PRT for painful bone metastases, and improvements in dyspnea, fatigue, anxiety, and function in advanced lung cancer. Observational and qualitative work showed low patient question-asking and persistent curative expectations; overall quality of life generally did not change. Although the evidence is limited and heterogeneous, targeted, standardized education appears to improve decision quality and selected symptoms in PRT pathways. Pragmatic multi-site trials and implementation studies are needed to define content, timing, personnel, and delivery models that are scalable in routine care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palliative Radiotherapy of Cancer)
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