- Title
- Assuring high quality treatment delivery in clinical trials: results from the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) study 03.04 "RADAR" set-up accuracy study
- Creator
- Haworth, Annette; Kearvell, Rachel; Greer, Peter B.; Hooton, Ben; Denham, James W.; Lamb, David; Duchesne, Gillian; Murray, Judy; Joseph, David
- Relation
- Radiotherapy and Oncology Vol. 90, Issue 3, p. 299-306
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2008.10.011
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2009
- Description
- Background and purpose: A multi-centre clinical trial for prostate cancer patients provided an opportunity to introduce conformal radiotherapy with dose escalation. To verify adequate treatment accuracy prior to patient recruitment, centres submitted details of a set-up accuracy study (SUAS). We report the results of the SUAS, the variation in clinical practice and the strategies used to help centres improve treatment accuracy. Materials and methods: The SUAS required each of the 24 participating centres to collect data on at least 10 pelvic patients imaged on a minimum of 20 occasions. Software was provided for data collection and analysis. Support to centres was provided through educational lectures, the trial quality assurance team and an information booklet. Results: Only two centres had recently carried out a SUAS prior to the trial opening. Systematic errors were generally smaller than those previously reported in the literature. The questionnaire identified many differences in patient set-up protocols. As a result of participating in this QA activity more than 65% of centres improved their treatment delivery accuracy. Conclusions: Conducting a pre-trial SUAS has led to improvement in treatment delivery accuracy in many centres. Treatment techniques and set-up accuracy varied greatly, demonstrating a need to ensure an on-going awareness for such studies in future trials and with the introduction of dose escalation or new technologies.
- Subject
- quality assurance; clinical trials; set-up accuracy; prostate
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/807201
- Identifier
- uon:7330
- Identifier
- ISSN:0167-8140
- Language
- eng
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