Harmonizing Oncology Data: A Pan-Canadian Strategy for Radiotherapy Data Standards

Abstract

Purpose/Aim

Since 2018, collaborative international efforts led by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) have provided guidance on radiotherapy-specific (TG-263) and general oncology (Operational Ontology for Oncology—O3) data standards. While standardizing nomenclature offers significant benefits for capturing real-world data, challenges in implementation have revealed gaps between these standards and clinical practice. In response to such challenges, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) and the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) launched a Ppan-Canadian Ccancer Ddata Sstrategy in 2023, identifying the radiotherapy (RT) community as well-suited to lead the initial phase of this interprofessional initiative, which aims to make diagnostic and treatment data accessible and linkable.

Methods/Process

As part of CPAC/CCS's strategy to harmonize treatment data, funding was sought to support an early-adopter partnership between two jurisdictions, Ontario (ON) and Nova Scotia (NS), along with two national organizations: the Canadian Artificial Intelligence and Data in Radiotherapy Alliance (CADRA) and the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR).

Results or Benefits/Challenges

The Pan-Canadian Cancer Data Strategy aims to standardize RT data to enhance system-level decision-making and facilitate data sharing and benchmarking nationwide. CPAC/CCS have empowered CADRA and CPQR to lead this initiative. Formed in 2023 as a committee under the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), CADRA operates as a formally interprofessional initiative, with a mandate to promote best practices in data and artificial intelligence. CADRA's current work includes assessing the feasibility of O3 standards in centres with varied resources and data readiness, focusing initially on the 15 ON RT programs and 2 NS RT sites (under one RT program) as early adopter jurisdictions. Work will contribute to pan-Canadian benchmarking by developing tools such as templates and scripts for centre self-audits. Now integrated as a standing committee within the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies (CAPCA), CPQR brings top-down support to facilitate system-level change such as that being led by CADRA, using its established RT network to onboard additional jurisdictions in future phases.

Conclusions/Impact

The pan-Canadian RT data initiative employs a community-of-practice approach, supporting early adopters through CPAC, CADRA, and CPQR guidance. Early insights will inform international efforts, highlighting both challenges and facilitators in implementing RT data standards.