The use of IMRT in Germany

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Oncology
• Oncology

Background:

• Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is a widely adopted cancer treatment technique.
• Current data on the frequency of IMRT use across specific tumor sites and associated quality assurance (QA) equipment are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current utilization of IMRT in Germany.
• To identify the most common IMRT technologies and equipment used for quality assurance.
• To determine the frequency of IMRT application for different cancer types.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was conducted from April to October 2014 among members of the collaborative IMRT working group (AK IMRT) of the German Association of Medical Physicists (DGMP).
• The survey collected data on IMRT usage, treatment machines, QA methods, and patient demographics from 23 German institutions.
• Data from 26,779 patients were analyzed, with 44% treated using IMRT techniques.

Main Results:

• Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was the most frequent IMRT technique (58.37%), followed by step-and-shoot IMRT and dynamic MLC.
• Elekta, Varian, and Siemens were the most common treatment machine vendors.
• IMRT was most frequently used for anal cancer, craniospinal irradiation, head and neck cancer, prostate cancer, pelvic tumors, gynecological tumors, and brain tumors.

Conclusions:

• The survey included approximately 10% of all radiation-treated patients in Germany in 2014, representing the AK IMRT membership.
• IMRT appears to be displacing traditional radiotherapy techniques.
• Further research is needed to address open scientific questions, particularly regarding the appropriate indications and contraindications for IMRT.