Quality assurance methods for the first Radiation Therapy Oncology Group permanent prostate implant protocol

Radiation oncology and medical physicists quality assurance in British Columbia Cancer Agency Provincial Prostate Brachytherapy Program

“…This early experience in the brachytherapy QA process clearly demonstrated diversity of experiences in participating individuals and institutions, underlining the need for a peer review process (30). As a program, we have made an effort to minimize significant discordance and increase planning and contouring conformity where possible, through continuous education and a stillevolving peer review process.…”

“…There is very little literature on QA in PB programs (30,31) as well as training requirements for oncologists and physicists. The issue was largely raised by the U.S. NRC after the discovery of several inadequate prostate implants and errors that occurred in the VA Philadelphia Brachytherapy system in 2009 (7).…”

Results from the Quality Research in Radiation Oncology (QRRO) survey: Evaluation of dosimetric outcomes for low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy

“…The successful implementation of a central quality assurance review has important implications not only for gauging the quality of brachytherapy as performed in the United States but also as a tool to provide external feedback and evaluate improvement of an individual's performance over time through serial assessments performed in a consistent fashion. Such a process has been used in the past for centralized review of eligibility of an institution; the presence of basic skills for performing implantation can be verified, to allow for institutional eligibility to enroll patients into prospective cooperative group studies (10). This process could be integrated in the future as part of self-assessment exercises for individual institutions to evaluate the quality of their procedures performed compared with other practicing centers.…”