Mustafa Can Berk YÜCEL, Melek YAKAR, Alaattin ÖZEN, Durmuş ETİZ
Turkish Journal of Oncology - 2026;41(3):186-192
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the use of bladder ultrasonography (USG) on time and workforce efficiency in patients with prostate, bladder, cervix, endometrium and rectal cancer undergoing curative pelvic radiotherapy (RT) in a radiation oncology clinic. METHODS: The study included 142 patients who underwent pelvic RT. The prospective study group (n=71) underwent bladder USG, while the other patients included in the study (n=71) who received standard treatment were designated as the retrospective historical control group. All patients underwent planning tomography (CT), set-up verification was performed with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the first 3 fractions and then evaluated with CBCT once a week. All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 25 package program. A value of P<0.05 was determined as the significance level. RESULTS: Patients who did not undergo USG underwent 846 CBCTs and patients who underwent USG underwent 809 CBCTs. Although not significant, fewer CBCTs were performed in the USG group. When patients with prostate cancer were analyzed; 37 patients with prostate cancer who did not undergo USG had a total of 476 CBCTs at the end of treatment. In 37 patients with prostate cancer who underwent USG, a total of 427 CBCTs were performed. The difference between these two groups was statistically significant (p=0.009). CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing pelvic RT, both pre-planning CT and pre-treatment USG were used to determine bladder fullness.
