AbstractBackground and purpose As treatment planning and delivery systems nowadays have the capability to simulate and realise increasingly complex irradiation geometries, quality assurance programs need to be reviewed and extended to include appropriate quality control checks, relevant to the implementation of advanced technologies in clinical practice. The ESTRO dosimetry & quality assurance focus group conducted a survey on current plan/patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) practices in Europe. Methods A survey was designed to gather information on the current practices of PSQA in Europe for external photon radiotherapy techniques. It comprised 19 questions which aimed to cover current practices on PSQA of radiotherapy treatments, including intensity modulated and stereotactic techniques, as well as adaptive radiotherapy workflows. Furthermore, the study aimed to gain insight into practices where measurement-based PSQA is being reduced, including the rationale behind such decisions. Results 200 centres participated in the survey. Half of the centres (48%) stated that they do not perform measurement-based PSQA for every new plan. The selection of plans undergoing pre-treatment PSQA with measurements was based on the evaluation of plan complexity or on discrepancies identified through independent dose calculations. The results showed that 42% of the centres have optimised their PSQA strategies. Conclusions Results showed a lack of harmonization in PSQA practices as well as in strategies to optimise them. Safely adapting quality assurance programs to advanced technologies would benefit from professional guidance.
Dufreneix et al. (Fri,) studied this question.