ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S2365

Interdisciplinary – Other

ESTRO 2025

1532

Digital Poster A Systematic Review of Global Pathways for, and Barriers and Enablers to, Clinical Academic Training in Radiation Oncology Joanna Kucharczak 1 , Anushka Irodi 2 , Katie Spencer 3 , Gerard M Walls 4,5 , Christopher M Jones 1 1 Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 2 School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 3 Faculty of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 4 Department of Clinical Oncology, Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom. 5 Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom Purpose/Objective There is growing global concern relating to ineffective, inequitable and unpopular pipelines for clinical academic training in radiation oncology (RO). To build evidence for best practice, we undertook a systematic review focused on the worldwide variation in pathways for, and the barriers and enablers to, clinical academic training in RO. Material/Methods Systematic searches of Medline and Embase were conducted to identify relevant studies published between January 2010 and August 2024. Searches included “clinical academic training”, “RO” and synonyms. Studies were screened by two independent investigators against predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify those describing current clinical academic training pathways, initiatives enabling trainee research, and barriers and enablers to trainee research and academic training. Extracted data items included the study type, country of origin, area of focus and key findings. Results 57/1,550 identified articles met the inclusion criteria. Most originate from the US (24/57), followed by the UK (8/57), Australia and New Zealand (7/57), Canada (3/57) and India (3/57). Six studies had pan-continental multi-country contributions. Most studies were cross-sectional surveys (32/57), followed by retrospective cohort analyses (12/57), programme or initiative descriptions (5/57) and letters (5/57). Standard clinical training programmes in five countries require trainees to complete ≥1 research project. The UK, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada have formal programmes for clinical academic training that extend for some or all of the duration of residency-level training. Multiple studies report trainees undertaking out-of programme research experience for varying time periods outside of their clinical training (e.g. European School of Oncology Clinical Training Centres Program). Three studies describe undergraduate programmes that encourage early RO research (e.g. UK Royal College of Radiologists Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship). Initiatives enabling RO research training included novel workshops designed to improve RO research skills, national or international collaborative groups (specifically identified as beneficial in four studies in LMIC settings), a funding supplement for researchers from underrepresented groups, and recruitment of research support staff. Personal factors that positively influence participation in RO research included prior opportunity for research experience and strong mentorship links. Reported barriers to RO trainee research included lack of protection from clinical commitments during research activity, limited training in research skills, limited high-quality supervision and mentorship, and gender and racial inequalities. Conclusion There is evidence of considerable global variation in approaches to clinical academic training in RO. Many barriers and enablers are shared across countries, suggesting that international efforts to bolster RO training in clinical oncology may be beneficial.

Keywords: academic training, careers, trainee research