ESTRO 2022 - Abstract Book

S1649

Abstract book

ESTRO 2022

The ESO-SPARE trial team consists of 7 RTTs in rotation that screen for eligibility, provide trial information and acquires patient consent as integrated part of clinical routine. The team is equipped with a designated “trial phone” for easy access. A patient information kit and material for follow-up are provided to the patient by the same staff. After consent, the RTT register the patients baseline data in Redcap. The dose planning RTTs complete randomization immediately prior to generating the dose plan pertaining to the trial arm selected by the randomization procedure. A radiation oncologist approves all dose plans. A screening log of all patients with metastatic spinal cord compression between C1 and Th12 vertebrae was planned. Regular meetings to optimize the workflow are being held and here we report the first three weeks of accrual in a single center (trial opened Oct 4 th , 2021).

Results 4 patients were accrued in the first week, 3 in the second and 3 in the third week (holiday week). Staff shortage caused the accrual to be closed for 4 out of 15 days. Still accrual was three times higher than the design-anticipated 1 patient per week. All but one patient (referred for surgery before RT) on trial started treatment within two weekdays days from referral. Maintaining the originally planned screening log resulted in a too high burden of registration, so the procedure has been updated to only maintain screening logs for patients addressed by the ESO-SPARE trial team. Conclusion The RTT driven patient recruitment for a RCT is feasible and highly efficient. The first three weeks of accrual suggest a higher than expected accrual rate at a comparatively modest resource expenditure. We propose that involving RTTs in patient accrual and running clinical trials is a viable and promising approach to increase the speed of knowledge generation in radiation oncology.

PO-1859 Assessment of proton beam radiotherapy radiographer’s knowledge, skills and training needs in SGRT

A. Webster 1 , A. Dodd 1 , C. Lakhani 1 , K. Osborn 1

1 UCLH, Radiotherapy and PBT, London, United Kingdom

Purpose or Objective SGRT has been installed in our new purpose-built proton beam department (PBD). Training programmes are often introduced without assessing radiographers’ baseline knowledge, skills and training needs. Therefore, before training and implementation, a survey in SGRT was undertaken. Materials and Methods A 4 part survey was designed for radiotherapy radiographers, including Diagnostic Radiographers and RTTs working in PBD. Sections assessed demographics, knowledge, skills and training needs. Data was collated and reviewed in excel. Two radiographers independently reviewed all results and open text results were converted to keywords. Results Twenty-one PBD radiographers completed the survey (Diagnostic Radiographers=2, RTTs=19). 19% (4) had used the system clinically as a qualified Radiographer. 38% (8) of radiographers had prior training and/or attended a course in SGRT. The system was described as surface anatomy (15), set-up (14), monitor (12), camera (11), motion management (8), verification (4) and no tattoos (3). The Radiographers responded that SGRT could be used in the following treatment sites: all (10), breast (10), head and neck (8), abdomen (5), thorax (5), pelvis (4), limbs (3), lung (2), paediatrics (1), SRS (1). In terms of the SGRT training delivery method, the Radiographers preferred lectures (11), test-cases (9), one-to-one (6), workbook (3), all of the aforementioned (1). For the initial SGRT assessment method radiographers preferred ongoing review (7), online assessment (6), a test (4), self-assessment (4) and reflections (1). For ongoing assessment radiographers preferred practice (11), informal refresher sessions (8), reflection (3), test (3), continuous professional development session (2), documentation (1), workbook (1) and reviewing the literature (1). The Radiographers also thought the system could be initially rolled out and utilised for set-up (8), correlated with IGRT (8), reduce imaging (7), monitor motion (6), identification (4), remove tattoos (2), gating (2), gated CT (1), for training cases only (1) and breast and thorax patients only (1).

Conclusion