The Royal College of Radiologists’ Re-Audit of UK Prostate Brachytherapy Delivery

IF 3 3区医学 Q2 ONCOLOGY

Clinical oncology Pub Date : 2025-07-24 DOI:10.1016/j.clon.2025.103909

A. Challapalli , P. Turner , K. Drinkwater , A. Stewart

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Abstract

Aims

The Royal College of Radiologists’ (RCR) audit of prostate brachytherapy was initially performed in 2012 and provided the first comprehensive picture of the use of prostate brachytherapy in the UK. A re-audit in 2022 examined the adherence to audit standards based on national and international guidelines.

Materials and methods

A web-based data collection tool was developed by The RCR Quality Improvement and Audit Committee and sent to audit leads at all cancer centres in the United Kingdom (UK). Standards were developed based on available guidelines in use at the start of 2021 covering casemix and dosimetry. Audit findings were compared with the 2012 RCR audit and other audits across the world.

Results

Fifty-three of 59 cancer centres submitted data. Twenty-five centres reported carrying out prostate brachytherapy and provided data regarding the number of implants, staffing, dosimetry, medication, anaesthesia, and follow-up. There was a decrease in overall prostate brachytherapy numbers with only 79% and 56% of centres treating >25 low-dose rate (LDR) and high-dose rate (HDR) cases per year, respectively. Only 43% (6/14 for LDR) and 31 % (5/16 for HDR) of oncologists performed more than 25 procedures. However, there was an increase in the skill mix of the departments and all centres have been performing post LDR implant dosimetry.

Conclusion

This audit provides a comprehensive picture of changes in prostate brachytherapy in the UK over the last 10 years since 2012. The number of prostate brachytherapy implants carried out in the UK has decreased since 2012. Many centres were unable to maintain minimum numbers of cases for compliance to guidelines, risking inadequate experience to maintain competence. The declining trends are similar to practice in the USA and Europe.

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英国皇家放射学院对前列腺近距离放射治疗的重新审核

目的皇家放射学院（RCR）对前列腺近距离放射治疗的审核最初于2012年进行，并提供了英国前列腺近距离放射治疗使用的第一张全面图片。2022年的重新审计检查了基于国家和国际准则的审计标准的遵守情况。材料和方法RCR质量改进和审计委员会开发了一个基于网络的数据收集工具，并将其发送给英国所有癌症中心的审计主管。标准是根据2021年初使用的现有指南制定的，涵盖病例混合和剂量测定。审计结果与2012年RCR审计和世界各地的其他审计进行了比较。结果59个癌症中心中有53个提交了数据。25个中心报告进行了前列腺近距离治疗，并提供了关于植入物数量、人员配置、剂量、药物、麻醉和随访的数据。前列腺近距离治疗的总体数量有所减少，每年分别只有79%和56%的中心治疗25例低剂量率（LDR）和高剂量率（HDR）病例。只有43% （6/14 LDR）和31% （5/16 HDR）的肿瘤学家进行了超过25次手术。但是，各部门的技能组合有所增加，所有中心都在进行LDR后植入物剂量测定。结论：本次审计提供了自2012年以来英国近距离前列腺放射治疗在过去10年中变化的全面情况。自2012年以来，英国进行的前列腺近距离放射治疗植入物的数量有所下降。许多中心无法维持最低限度的病例数以遵守准则，有可能缺乏维持能力的经验。这种下降趋势与美国和欧洲的做法相似。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Clinical oncology 医学-肿瘤学

CiteScore

5.20

自引率

8.80%

发文量

332

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： Clinical Oncology is an International cancer journal covering all aspects of the clinical management of cancer patients, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach to therapy. Papers, editorials and reviews are published on all types of malignant disease embracing, pathology, diagnosis and treatment, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, combined modality treatment and palliative care. Research and review papers covering epidemiology, radiobiology, radiation physics, tumour biology, and immunology are also published, together with letters to the editor, case reports and book reviews.