State of the ART: Improving outcomes and experiences for patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer
State of the ART: Improving outcomes and experiences for patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer
A NEMICS service improvement grant supported a project at Austin Health to improve outcomes and experiences for patients having radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.
Impact
This project developed a MIM software workflow for offline adaptive radiotherapy in the treatment of Head and Neck cancer patients using CBCT (Cone Beam Computed Tomography) linacs. The quality of the synthetic images generated in the workflow was validated with a retrospective study of patients who had received an additional replanning CT during their treatment. Patient experience with immobility masks during radiotherapy was also assessed.
The successful scoping project indicates that this workflow has sufficient accuracy for treatment dosimetry change surveillance, noting the limitations of the small study size with a heterogeneous range of disease. The project noted that by quantifying the impact of anatomical changes, the workflow helps to determine whether a patient would benefit from adaptive replanning, thus only those requiring adjustments to their treatment plan. This improves efficiency, and patient’s experience.
Outcome
This project resulted in recommendations for feasibility testing and implementation phases where the workflow allows automated monitoring of anatomical changes during treatment, and notes that while implementation would require staff resources, once implemented it would not require ongoing staffing. Long-term success will be measured by continued adoption of the new adaptive workflow, including a training package for staff and quality assurance.
Contact
Dr Jessica Lye, jessica.lye@austin.org.au
