Key clinical point: Side effects of radiotherapy are underrecognized by physicians, a large study suggests.

Major finding: When compared with patient reports, physician reports underrecognized moderate to severe pain (30.9%), frequent bother from pruritus (36.7%), frequent bother from edema (51.4%), and frequent severe fatigue (18.8%).

Study details: An observational analysis of 9,868 patients who received radiotherapy after lumpectomy for breast cancer and had completed patient-reported outcome measures. Patient-reported outcomes were compared with physician reports of toxicity.

Disclosures: The study was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Care Network as part of the BCBSM Value Partnership program. Dr. Jagsi disclosed financial relationships with Amgen, Equity Quotient, Genentech, Vizient, law firms, various foundations, the National Institutes of Health, and BCBSM for the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium.