ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2664

Interdisciplinary - Education in radiation therapy

ESTRO 2024

2. Bowman, S. Training from the back of room! 65 ways to step aside and let them learn . Pfeiffer; 2009

3. Prince MJ, Felder RM. Inductive teaching and learning methods: Definitions, comparisons, and Research Bases. Journal of Engineering Education . 2006;95(2):123-138. doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00884.x

637

Mini-Oral

Frequency of changes in treatment plans during daily peer review meetings in radiation oncology.

Bilal Mazhar Qureshi, Laraib Khan, Ahmed Nadeem Abbasi, Nasir Ali, Asim Hafiz, Sehrish Abrar, Maria Tariq, Maham Khan

Aga Khan University Hospital, Oncology, Radiation Oncology Section, Karachi, Pakistan

Purpose/Objective:

Peer-reviewed practice has been recognized as an indicator of quality assurance by professional bodies such as ESTRO and ASTRO based on the evidence of inter observer variability in radiation oncology treatment planning. 1 With this study we aim to observe the impact of daily Peer Review Meetings (PRM) in radiation oncology and to determine the frequency by which it affects the treatment plan volumes.

Material/Methods:

Data was collected prospectively after approval by the institutional ethical review committee. All the patients who were booked for external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and underwent simulation followed by planning CT scan were discussed routinely in the daily PRM of the radiation oncology section at our institution. All the patients undergoing EBRT, regardless of intent of treatment or technique of delivering radiotherapy were included in the study. However, patients receiving brachytherapy and urgent palliative radiation on the day of simulation were excluded. Contouring of target volumes was done by residents and then approved by the primary consultant radiation oncologist prior to discussion in daily PRM. During PRM, each plan was reviewed by at least two or three radiation oncologists and suggested changes were noted in the data collection sheet as no change, minor change, major change or missing contour (Table 1). Each change was further classified as changes in target volumes including gross tumor volume (GTV), clinical target volume (CTV) and planning target volume (PTV), organs at risk (OARs), radiation doses, treatment fields or treatment decisions. The frequency of changes suggested during PRM was analyzed by patient demographics, tumor site, treatment intent, setting and radiation technique. Intent of treatment was recorded as either curative or palliative. Treatment sites included the brain, head and neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, extremity, and others. Radiation techniques included two dimensional, three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric arc therapy (VMAT). Data analysis was done by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23 (SPSS, Chicago, IL) and is presented descriptively.

Table 1: Operational Definitions

PRM Changes Category

Definition

No change

No change made in treatment volumes, fields, or doses