ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2951

Interdiscplinary - Other

ESTRO 2024

Purpose/Objective:

The evaluation of technical changes in radiotherapy using conventional clinical trial approaches is challenging for multiple reasons[1][2]. As a result, new techniques and technologies are frequently implemented without formal assessment, risking the adoption of less effective treatments [3]. In response, there is increased interest in alternative pragmatic methodologies, often termed rapid-learning, which use real-world data (RWD), the information routinely collected about all patients as standard of care, to evaluate the impact of such changes in practice [4][5][6]. RAPID-RT is a programme of research investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing rapid-learning approaches (Figure 1) to generate evidence of changes in radiotherapy as an alternative to randomised controlled trials. This study investigated radiotherapy professionals’ perceptions and opinions of rapid-learning and RWD at the pre-implementation stage.

Material/Methods:

This study adopted a multi-centre, qualitative interview-based design. Interviews were conducted with radiotherapy professionals (n=23) based across five geographically diverse UK cancer sites. Interview participants included clinical oncologists, physicists, radiographers, treatment planning and digital services staff. Data collection took place between December and May 2023. Data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis [7].

Results:

Participants’ views of rapid-learning centred on four main themes which are summarised in Table 1: 1) The alignment of rapid-learning methodologies with the reality of practice, 2) Concerns related to the variability of