{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T18:15:02Z","timestamp":1782843302196,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]],"date-time":"2025-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758672000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program","award":["825859"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["825859"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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\u2013post 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers17193109","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]],"date-time":"2025-09-24T10:39:42Z","timestamp":1758710382000},"page":"3109","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Patient Education and Communication in Palliative Radiotherapy: A Narrative Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Erika","family":"Galietta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Radiation Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Costanza M.","family":"Donati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Radiation Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Filippo","family":"Mammini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-9966-6342","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arina A.","family":"Zamfir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"Bazzocchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0427-3423","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Sassi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-0858-7472","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ren\u00e9e","family":"Hovenier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9246-3242","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Clemens","family":"Bos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Milly","family":"Buwenge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2111-0164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Cammelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Radiation Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helena M.","family":"Verkooijen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Imaging and Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Division Imaging, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9793-3410","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessio G.","family":"Morganti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Radiation Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2913","DOI":"10.1200\/JCO.2014.55.1143","article-title":"Role of Radiation Therapy in Palliative Care of the Patient with Cancer","volume":"32","author":"Lutz","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. 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