Beam Output Audit results within the EORTC Radiation Oncology Group network
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SHORT REPORT
Open Access
Beam Output Audit results within the EORTC Radiation Oncology Group network Coen W. Hurkmans1,4*, Melissa Christiaens2,3, Sandra Collette2 and Damien Charles Weber4,5
Abstract Beam Output Auditing (BOA) is one key process of the EORTC radiation therapy quality assurance program. Here the results obtained between 2005 and 2014 are presented and compared to previous results. For all BOA reports the following parameters were scored: centre, country, date of audit, beam energies and treatment machines audited, auditing organisation, percentage of agreement between stated and measured dose. Four-hundred and sixty-one BOA reports were analyzed containing the results of 1790 photon and 1366 electron beams, delivered by 755 different treatment machines. The majority of beams (91.1%) were within the optimal limit of ≤ 3%. Only 13 beams (0.4%; n = 9 electrons; n = 4 photons), were out of the range of acceptance of ≤ 5%. Previous reviews reported a much higher percentage of 2.5% or more of the BOAs with >5% deviation. The majority of EORTC centres present beam output variations within the 3% tolerance cutoff value and only 0.4% of audited beams presented with variations of more than 5%. This is an important improvement compared to previous BOA results. Keywords: Quality assurance, Beam output, Radiotherapy, Clinical trial, Audit
Introduction In 1982 the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer - Radiation Oncology Group (EORTCROG started a quality assurance (QA) program in radiation therapy (RTQA). ) In 1986 a Beam Output Audit (BOA) program was incorporated in this RTQA program [1, 2]. This RTQA process is in essence a verification of the dose delivery under reference conditions at the accruing site and defines, with the facility questionnaire the RTQA Level 1 [3]. It is a dose measurement performed by a national or international auditor, independent from the site, and the results are fed back to EORTC headquarters [4]. Published BOA data measured by an independent body and collected in the perspective of a trial coordination organization is scarce. A description of the method with mailed Thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLDs) and the results for the 1987–1989 and 1987–1992 periods have been published earlier [1, 5]. Themain goal of this paper is to present the BOA results from 2005 to 2014 stemming from European and non-European centres participating in EORTC trials. * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands 4 EORTC ROG RTQA Strategic Committee, EORTC, Brussels, Belgium Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Materials and methods There are a number of EORTC-ROG minimum requirements that centres should fulfill to get their BOA approved by the EORTC-ROG [3]. First and foremost, the audit must be performed independently from the centre, including at least the highest and lowest photon energy. The date of measurement should not be longer ago than 2 years at the time a requ
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