Perceptions of Veterinary Radiation Therapy Adverse Events Among Allied Specialists

Radiation therapy (RT) has become increasingly available in veterinary medicine and practitioners are likely to encounter RT adverse events (AEs). General knowledge and recognition of AEs associated with RT may be variable among allied specialists; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the perception and awareness of AEs associated with RT within the veterinary specialty groups of ACVIM-(Oncology), ACVECC, and ACVR-(Radiation Oncology). A survey was performed via the respective specialty board e-mail list servs between May 14, 2024 and Aug 30, 2024. A total of 189 complete and 13 partially complete responses were included for statistical analysis. Participants evaluated their clinical perceptions and knowledge of veterinary RT on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 indicating strong agreement. Awareness and perception of veterinary RT among ACVIM-(Oncology) and ACVECC specialists was overall positive. Allied specialists with more than 10 years of clinical experience were more confident in their ability to identify and treat AEs. Despite the reported confidence among allied specialists in identifying AEs and overall favourable perception of RT, 35.7% (10/28) of Veterinary Radiation Oncologists reported having a patient euthanized outside of their care due to, in their opinion, treatable acute AEs associated with RT. Favourable perceptions of RT among allied specialists should be leveraged for targeted continuing education focusing on the identification of commonly encountered RT AEs.