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Radiotherapy trial quality assurance processes: a systematic review
Chloe Brooks1, Elizabeth Miles1, Peter J Hoskin2
1National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Group (RTTQA), National Institute for Health and Care Research, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Northwood, UK.
Quality assurance in radiotherapy clinical trials is inconsistent, with frequent deviations from protocols, especially in treatment outlining. More research is needed to establish optimal quality assurance processes and improve outcome reporting for radiotherapy trials.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Clinical Trials
- Radiotherapy
Background:
- Quality assurance (QA) is crucial for technical interventions like radiotherapy in clinical trials.
- Treatment quality significantly impacts outcomes in radiotherapy trials.
- Existing QA processes for radiotherapy in clinical trials lack robust evidence.
Approach:
- A systematic review evaluated evidence for radiotherapy QA processes in clinical trials.
- Focused on pre-trial outlining benchmark cases and on-trial individual case reviews.
- Included 29 studies published between January 2000 and December 2022.
Key Points:
- Radiotherapy QA practices and outcome reporting were inconsistent across trials.
- Deviations from trial protocols, particularly in outlining, were frequent.
- Mixed results were found correlating pre-trial benchmarks with on-trial performance.
Conclusions:
- Optimal radiotherapy QA processes in clinical trials remain unclear due to limited evidence.
- There is a need for improved outcome reporting from QA programs to build an evidence base.
- Standardized and evidence-based QA is essential for reliable radiotherapy trial outcomes.
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