Quality assurance in radiation oncology.

The Children's Oncology Group (COG) has a strong quality assurance (QA) program managed by the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC). This program consists of credentialing centers and providing real-time management of each case for protocol compliant target definition and radiation delivery. In the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP), the lack of an available, reliable online data platform has been a challenge and the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) quality and excellence in radiotherapy and imaging for children and adolescents with cancer across Europe in clinical trials (QUARTET) program currently provides QA review for prospective clinical trials. The COG and SIOP are fully committed to a QA program that ensures uniform execution of protocol treatments and provides validity of the clinical data used for analysis.

Evaluation of diagnostic performance of CT for detection of tumor thrombus in children with Wilms tumor: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

BACKGROUND: Pre-operative assessment of intravascular extension of Wilms tumor is essential to guide management. Our aim is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of multidetector CT in detection of tumor thrombus in Wilms tumor. PROCEDURE: The study population was drawn from the first 1,015 cases in the AREN03B2 study of the Children's Oncology Group. CT scans of children with (n = 62) and without (n = 111) tumor thrombus at nephrectomy were independently reviewed by two radiologists, blinded to patient information. Doppler sonography results were obtained from institutional radiology reports, as Doppler requires real-time evaluation. The diagnostic performance of CT and Doppler for detection of tumor thrombus was determined using nephrectomy findings as reference standard. RESULTS: In the primary nephrectomy group, tumor thrombus detection sensitivity, specificity of CT was 65.6, 84.8%, and Doppler was 45.8, 95.7%, respectively. In this group, sensitivity of CT, Doppler for detection of cavoatrial thrombus was 84.6 and 70.0%, respectively. In the secondary nephrectomy group, tumor thrombus detection sensitivity, specificity of CT was 86.7, 90.6%, and Doppler was 66.7, 100.0%, respectively. In this group, sensitivity of CT, Doppler for detection of cavoatrial thrombus was 96.0 and 68.8%, respectively. Pre-operative Doppler evaluation performed in 108/173 cases, detected 3 cases with intravenous extension (2 in renal vein, 1 in IVC at renal vein level) that were missed at CT. CONCLUSIONS: CT can accurately identify cavoatrial tumor thrombus that will impact surgical approach. Routine Doppler evaluation, after CT has already been performed, is not required in Wilms tumor.

Inter-institutional variation of implant activity for permanent prostate brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: Despite the existence of guidelines for permanent prostate brachytherapy, it is unclear whether there is interinstitutional consensus concerning the parameters of an ideal implant. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Three institutions with extensive prostate brachytherapy expertise submitted information regarding their implant philosophy and dosimetric constraints, as well as data on up to 50 radioiodine implants. Regression analyses were performed to reflect each institution's utilization of seeds and implanted activity. RESULTS: Despite almost identical implant philosophy, target volume, and dosimetric constraints, there were statistically significant interinstitutional differences in the number of seeds and total implant activity across the range of prostate volumes. For larger volumes, the variation in implanted activity was 25%; for smaller glands, it exceeded 40%. CONCLUSIONS: There remain wide variations in implanted activity between institutions espousing seemingly identical implant strategies, prescription, and dosimetry constraints. Brachytherapists should therefore be wary of using nomograms generated at other institutions.

Can the short index of problems (SIP) be improved? Validity and reliability of the three-month SIP in an emergency department sample.

OBJECTIVE: Although the Short Index of Problems (SIP) is often used, little is known about the psychometric properties of the SIP in special populations. The present study seeks to determine the following: (1) whether it is possible to substitute items to enhance the psychometric properties of the SIP and (2) whether the SIP, or improved scale, is as sensitive as the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInC) to assess intervention effectiveness. METHOD: The sample consisted of 404 injured patients who were treated in the Emergency Department (ED) of a major teaching hospital that serves southern New England. Three approaches were used to guide development of the 3-month SIP-R, the potential alternative to the SIP. Cronbach's alpha assessed intrascale reliability; hierarchical multiple regression assessed construct validity; performance of the scales assessing intervention change were compared to the total 3-month DrInC as a function of intervention using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). RESULTS: There was no evidence that changing the current SIP items will significantly improve performance. The 3-month SIP performed as well as the 3-month DrInC-2R in predicting 12-month DrInC scores and in determining intervention change at 12 months. Of the 45 DrInC items, 31 also predicted a difference across intervention groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest there is no advantage to changing the current SIP items. The 3-month SIP is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing consequences of alcohol consumption in an ED sample and is almost as sensitive to intervention change as the full DrInC.

Optimal equations for describing the relationship between prostate volume, number of sources, and total activity in permanent prostate brachytherapy.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there is an optimal type of mathematical equation for predicting seed and activity requirements for permanent prostate brachytherapy. METHODS: Four institutions with extensive brachytherapy experience each submitted details of more than 40 implants. The data was used to generate power and linear equations to reflect the relationship between preimplant volume and the number of seeds implanted, and preimplant volume and the total implant activity. We compared the R and standard error of the generated equations to determine which type of equation better fit the data. RESULTS: For the limited range of prostate volumes commonly implanted (20-60 mL), power and linear equations predict seed and activity requirements comparably well. CONCLUSIONS: Linear and power equations are equally suitable for generating institution-specific nomograms.