ESTRO 2025 Congress report | RTT track
Session on Saturday 3 May 2025

This year’s ESTRO Congress in Vienna, Austria, hosted a variety of excellent sessions. The session on “Personalisation of Patient Information Needs” provided a compelling overview of the evolving landscape of patient communication within radiotherapy and oncology. Sessions like these highlight the critical need for tailored approaches and improved inclusivity for diverse patient populations.

The opening presentation by Dr Toni Kelly on Assessing Health Literacy in Patients Presenting for Radiation Therapy underscored the foundational role of health literacy in effective patient-provider communication. Dr Kelly outlined the challenges faced by radiation therapists (RTTs) in recognising and addressing varying levels of health literacy among patients. She reviewed several health literacy assessment tools and gave practical recommendations for their clinical use. She placed emphasis on the benefits of practice that is sensitive to the patient’s level of health literacy, which should improve patient understanding and enhance treatment adherence, while she acknowledged structural barriers such as time constraints and limited training. She urged that health literacy screening be integrated into routine care and that standardised guidelines be developed across departments.

The next talk by Dr Louise Lynch on Information Barriers for Older Patients with Intellectual Disability in Accessing Cancer Treatment Including Radiation Therapy brought attention to a frequently underserved patient group. Dr Lynch presented key findings from the EuCan qualitative study, which explored systemic, communicative, and cognitive barriers that older adults with intellectual disabilities experienced in oncology settings. This talk highlighted that conventional ways in which information is delivered fail to accommodate the specific needs of this group, and that this results in disparities in care access and engagement. She recommended that simplified, multimodal communication strategies be used, interdisciplinary collaboration be fostered, and that caregivers should be more involved in discussions.

The final presentation by Dr Amanda Bolderston on Improving Radiation Therapy Information for LGBTIQ+ Patients addressed long-standing inequities in care delivery for sexual- and gender-minority patients. The talk offered a comprehensive overview of the unique psychosocial and informational needs of LGBTIQ+ individuals undergoing radiotherapy. It emphasised the importance of inclusive language, recognition of diverse family structures, and the building of environments that reduce stigma and fear. The role of community partnerships and the need for targeted education among healthcare professionals were also explored as strategies to close the equity gap.

This session was a timely and necessary contribution to the ongoing effort to embed equity and person-centred communication into RTT and oncology practice. The breadth of topics, from health literacy to intellectual disability and LGBTIQ+ inclusion, reflected the complex, intersectional nature of healthcare communication. It is clear that improving information delivery is not only a matter of clarity but of justice, dignity, and accessibility.

Naman Julka-Anderson
Research radiographer, Royal Marsden Hospitals and Institute of Cancer Research
Allied health professional clinical adviser, Macmillan Cancer Support
‘Rad Chat’ oncology podcast and education platform co-founder
London, UK

From left to right: Amanda Bolderston, Karen Molan, Louise Lynch, Toni Kelly, Naman Julka-Anderson.