radiation-planning-assistant-streamlined-fully-automated-radiotherapy

Radiation Planning Assistant - A Streamlined, Fully Automated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning System

The Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA) is a system developed for the fully automated creation of radiotherapy treatment plans, including volume-modulated ...

radiation-planning-assistant-web-based-tool-to-support-high-quality

Radiation Planning Assistant - A Web-based Tool to Support High-quality Radiotherapy in Clinics with Limited Resources

Access to radiotherapy worldwide is limited. The Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA) is a fully automated, web-based tool that is being developed to offer ...

Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town

Effective treatment of children with medulloblastoma requires a functioning multi-disciplinary team with adequate neurosurgical, neuroradiological, pathological, radiotherapy and chemotherapy facilities and personnel. In addition the treating centre should have the capacity to effectively screen and manage any tumour and treatment-associated complications. These requirements have made it difficult for many low and middle-income countries (LMIC) centres to offer curative treatment. This article provides management recommendations for children with standard-risk medulloblastoma (localised tumours in children over the age of 3-5 years) according to the level of facilities available.

SIOP PODC adapted treatment recommendations for standard-risk medulloblastoma in low and middle income settings.

To fully evaluate the efficacy of intracranial stereotactic irradiation, tumour control needs to be assessed in conjunction with the effects of radiation on normal tissue and the potential for changes in physiology, cognition and quality of life. This prospective pilot study investigated whether intracranial stereotactic irradiation induces cognitive changes in patients with cranial and base of skull lesions that did not directly involve the brain parenchyma. The value of a software-based psychometric approach to neurocognitive testing was also examined.

Evaluation of the potential of inducing neurocognitive changes in patients receiving intracranial stereotactic irradiation for benign tumors: a preliminary study.

Effective treatment of children with low grade glioma (LGG) requires a functioning multi-disciplinary team with adequate neurosurgical, neuroradiological, pathological, radiotherapy and chemotherapy facilities and personnel. In addition, the treating centre should have the capacity to manage a variety of LGG and treatment-associated complications. These requirements have made it difficult for many centers in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) to offer effective treatment and follow up. This article provides management recommendations for children with LGG according to the level of facilities available.

SIOP PODC Adapted treatment guidelines for low grade gliomas in low and middle income settings.

Assembling the brain trust: the multidisciplinary imperative in neuro-oncology.

Radiation treatment planning for head and neck cancer is a complex process with much variability; automated treatment planning is a promising option to improve plan quality and efficiency. This study compared radiation plans generated from a fully automated radiation treatment planning system to plans generated manually that had been clinically approved and delivered.

Clinical Acceptability of Automated Radiation Treatment Planning for Head and Neck Cancer Using the Radiation Planning Assistant.

The role of radiotherapy (RT) in cancer care is well described, with a clear correlation between access to radiotherapy and overall survival. Cancer mortality rates in Africa are substantially higher than those of the rest of the world, which may be partly attributed to lack of RT access and insufficient human resources. The Access to Care (A2C) Cape Town RT training programme was created in 2014 with the aim of supplementing practical RT training in the region, focusing on clinics moving from 2 to 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). The programme makes use of hybrid teaching methods, including pre-course e-learning followed by 17 on-site days of free-thinking design exercises, didactic learning, hands-on treatment planning computer sessions (39% of total teaching time), virtual simulation training and departmental demonstration sessions. Email support is offered to all teams for 3 months after each course to develop clinical protocols. Thirteen teams (radiation oncologist, medical physicist and radiation therapy technologist) from Africa attended the course between 2015 and 2019, with additional participants from seven South African and four international centres. E-learning done on the LäraNära training platform was only successful once formal progress tracking was introduced in 2019 (34% vs. 76% test completion rate). Delays between course attendance and initial clinical use of equipment proved to be detrimental to knowledge retention, with some centres having to send a second team for training. The course will be modified for remote teaching in 2021, to make provision for the global changes in travel due to Covid-19.

Bridging the Radiotherapy Education Gap in Africa: Lessons Learnt from the Cape Town Access to Care Training Programme Over the Past 5 Years (2015-2019).

How Can Genomic Innovations in Pediatric Brain Tumors Transform Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

Radiotherapy (RT) is essential for multimodality treatment of pediatric renal tumors, particularly in higher-risk and metastatic disease. Despite decades of use, particularly for Wilms tumor, there remain controversies regarding RT indications, timing, dose, and targets. To align global management, we address these issues in this international HARMONIsation and CollAboration (HARMONICA) project. There are multiple knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research including: (1) utilization of advanced RT technologies, including intensity-modulated RT, proton beam therapy, combined with image-guided RT to reduce target volumes; (2) impact of molecular biomarkers including loss of heterozygosity at 1p, 16q, and 1q gain on RT indications; (3) mitigation of reproductive toxicity following RT; (4) promotion of RT late effects research; and (5) support to overcome challenges in RT utilization in low- and middle-income countries where 90% of the world's children reside. Here, we outline current status and future directions for RT in pediatric renal tumors.

Harmonica consensus, controversies, and future directions in radiotherapy for pediatric Wilms tumors.

Pediatric patients with medulloblastoma in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are most treated with 3D-conformal photon craniospinal irradiation (CSI), a time-consuming, complex treatment to plan, especially in resource-constrained settings. Therefore, we developed and tested a 3D-conformal CSI autoplanning tool for varying patient lengths.

Automating the treatment planning process for 3D-conformal pediatric craniospinal irradiation therapy.

Target delineation for radiation therapy is a time-consuming and complex task. Autocontouring gross tumor volumes (GTVs) has been shown to increase efficiency. However, there is limited literature on post-operative target delineation, particularly for CT-based studies. To this end, we trained a CT-based autocontouring model to contour the post-operative GTV of pediatric patients with medulloblastoma.

ArticleTotal : 2	Year
Publication title Cited by 60	2018
Publication title Cited by 6	2023

Article	Year
SIOP PODC adapted treatment recommendations for standard-risk medulloblastoma in low and middle income settings. Pediatric blood & cancer\| PubMed ID: 25418957	2015
Evaluation of the potential of inducing neurocognitive changes in patients receiving intracranial stereotactic irradiation for benign tumors: a preliminary study. Journal of radiosurgery and SBRT\| PubMed ID: 29296379	2014
SIOP PODC Adapted treatment guidelines for low grade gliomas in low and middle income settings. Pediatric blood & cancer\| PubMed ID: 29297618	2017
Assembling the brain trust: the multidisciplinary imperative in neuro-oncology. Nature reviews. Clinical oncology\| PubMed ID: 31150024	2019
Clinical Acceptability of Automated Radiation Treatment Planning for Head and Neck Cancer Using the Radiation Planning Assistant. Practical radiation oncology\| PubMed ID: 33640315	2021
Bridging the Radiotherapy Education Gap in Africa: Lessons Learnt from the Cape Town Access to Care Training Programme Over the Past 5 Years (2015-2019). Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education\| PubMed ID: 33928527	2022
How Can Genomic Innovations in Pediatric Brain Tumors Transform Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? JCO global oncology\| PubMed ID: 36252166	2022
Harmonica consensus, controversies, and future directions in radiotherapy for pediatric Wilms tumors. Pediatric blood & cancer\| PubMed ID: 36482883	2023
Automating the treatment planning process for 3D-conformal pediatric craniospinal irradiation therapy. Pediatric blood & cancer\| PubMed ID: 36591994	2023
Resection cavity auto-contouring for patients with pediatric medulloblastoma using only CT information. Journal of applied clinical medical physics\| PubMed ID: 36917640	2023

Jeannette Parkes

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