ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2753

Interdisciplinary - Global health

ESTRO 2024

2465

Digital Poster

Global Radiotherapy community develops cancer plan framework for advocacy use

Darien Laird 1 , Sarah Quinlan 2 , Pat Price 3,4

1 Global Coalition for Radiotherapy, Directorate, Manchester, United Kingdom. 2 Radiotherapy UK, Directorate, London, United Kingdom. 3 Imperial College London, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery & Cancer, London, United Kingdom. 4 Radiotherapy UK, Board, London, United Kingdom

Purpose/Objective:

To avoid preventable cancer-related deaths, a national cancer plan is a critical component to a country’s healthcare system. It is imperative to reduce incidence, lower mortality rates and improve the quality of life of patients. Despite 50-60% of cancer patients receiving radiotherapy during their course of treatment, radiotherapy investment, planning and capacity to adopt new technologies to transform patient outcomes is often neglected when cancer plans are developed. The technologically innovative nature of radiotherapy also means that many existing cancer plans are already outdated and unreflective of advances in this area. As technology advances, there is a persistent lack of access to radiotherapy in many LMIC countries. These scientific, technological and clinical advances often exacerbate the gap. Investment in radiotherapy is proven to be cost-effective and of economic benefit. To bridge the gap, we need to work towards a new approach to how we include radiotherapy in cancer planning. The Global Coalition for Radiotherapy (GCR) is taking on this challenge by creating a framework of key components for the delivery of high quality radiotherapy services that should be considered when developing or updating a national cancer plan. Working alongside Radiotherapy UK, this resource will be incorporated into the Radiotherapy UK 10-year Vision Document, acting as a pilot of this global resource. The Vision Document will combine the knowledge and experiences of patients, specialists, radiotherapy leaders, frontline workforce, industry and academics to create an implementable vision that will meet the needs of cancer patients now and in the future. It will provide a sitting government with a ready-made plan of action to put in place systems and strategies that allow the service to grow, overcome challenges and meet patient needs.

Material/Methods:

The GCR and Radiotherapy UK brought together a team of international experts, along with industry and not for profit representatives to develop a framework of key components for developing or updating a national cancer plan and the RT Vision Document.

Phase I:

• Present the subject, understand the issues/structure. Focus on listing issues to be addressed in the framework – ie planning, monitoring, quality, etc. • Examine existing guides for radiotherapy planning • Develop the high level framework

Phase II: