While RT negatively affects cancer patients' QOL, restoration tends to be rapid and patients report significant improvement by 1 month post-RT. Various patient- and disease-specific factors and RT modality affect QOL in this patient group. We advocate measuring cancer patients' QOL regularly as part of routine patient management.

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1-90 months). The three-year overall survival rate was 71%: 100% in stage I, 88% in stage II, 80% in stage III, and 40% in stage IV. The three-year survival rate was 78% in tumors localized in the gastroenteropancreatic region, and 54% in tumors localized in other organs. In the univariate analysis, gender, age, performance status of the patients, grade, localization, surgical treatment, and neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (≤5 versus >5) affected the prognosis of the patients. Conclusions: Most of the tumors were localized in the gastroenteropancreatic region, and the three-year survival rate in tumors localized in this region was better than the tumors localized in other sites. Surgical treatment was a positive independent prognostic factor, whereas Grade 3 and a neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio of >5 were negative independent prognostic factors.

The aim of this study is to assess the validity and reliability of a Turkish version of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) among young people. The BSQ was initially administrated to female high school students (N = 665) and administered a second time to a subset of subjects (N = 144). The subjects also completed the Eating Attitudes Test, the Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire (a dieting questionnaire) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-90), and were weighed, and their body mass indices were calculated. Test-retest reliability of the BSQ was 0.81. The BSQ score correlated highly with the Eating Attitudes Test, Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Higher BSQ scores were also associated with higher body mass index. The results suggest that the Turkish version of BSQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing body image concerns in teenagers.

Background Access to cancer care is a problem that continues to plague refugees displaced from their home countries. The turbulent political crisis in Syria, which has led to millions of refugees seeking asylum in Turkey, merits further attention. We aimed to study the rate of utilization of radiation therapy among Syrian refugees with cancer living in Turkey in an attempt to identify the contributing factors predictive of non-compliance with prescribed RT. Methods In this retrospective review of 14 institutional databases, Syrian refugee patients in Turkey with a cancer diagnosis from January 2015 to December 2019 who were treated with RT were identified. The demographic data, treatment compliance rates, and toxicity outcomes in these patients were surveyed. Variable predictors of noncompliance such as age, sex, diagnosis, treatment length, and toxicity were studied. The association between these variables and patient noncompliance was determined. Results We identified 10,537 patients who were diagnosed with cancer during the study period, of whom 1010 (9.6%) patients were treated with RT. Breast cancer (30%) and lung cancer (14%) were the most common diagnoses with up to 68% of patients diagnosed at an advanced stage (Stage III, IV). 20% of the patients were deemed noncompliant. Treatment with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.06–2.46, p = 0.023) and living in a refugee camp (OR 3.62, 95% CI 2.43–5.19, p < 0.001) were associated with noncompliance. Age, sex and treatment length were not significantly associated with noncompliance. Conclusions Noncompliance with radiotherapy among Syrian refugees in Turkey remains an area of concern with a multitude of factors contributing to these alarming numbers. Further studies to better ascertain the finer nuances of this intricately complex problem and a global combination of efforts can pave the way to providing a solution.