Bernier J, Horiot J C, Bartelink H, Johansson K A, Cionini L, Gonzalèz Gonzalèz D, Hamers H, van den Bogaert W
Department of Radiotherapy, Ospedale San Giovanni, Bellinzona, Switzerland.
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1996 Mar 1;34(4):953-60. doi: 10.1016/0360-3016(95)02177-9.
Since 1982, the Radiotherapy Group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is carrying out a Quality Assurance program that includes the evaluation of the structure and human resources of 50 centers actively participating in protocols of clinical research in radiotherapy.
One or two site visits were made by a team of radiation physicists and physicians. A detailed questionnaire was circulated to these radiotherapy centers to collect and update standardized figures on the status and activities of each center, to clarify some obscurities encountered during on-site visits, and to extend investigations to issues that were not addressed during local audits.
This article reports on departmental infrastructure, staff and equipment workload, and quality control procedures carried out by single institutions. Large variations in equipment and staff are observed among participating centers. Comparisons between data collected in the early 1980s and during a recent update show no difference in workload per megavoltage equipment and per simulator. The number of cancer patients treated per year per radiotherapist seems to slightly diminish, especially in centers that experienced a considerable staff shortage a few years ago. The most significant improvement is observed for the number of cases treated per year per member of the radiation physics team. The radiographer's workload shows an opposite trend.
Our database provides participating centers with strong comparative arguments to correct staff and equipment unbalances and to convince administrative authorities of priorities in decision making. The current analysis shows that the situation for equipment is unchanged in comparison with that observed 6 years ago. Efforts have to be put forth in some institutions to reduce the workload at simulators. A tentative profile and guidelines for minimum recommendations for European radiotherapy departments involved in clinical research are presented.
自1982年以来，欧洲癌症研究与治疗组织（EORTC）放疗组一直在开展一项质量保证计划，其中包括对积极参与放疗临床研究方案的50个中心的结构和人力资源进行评估。
由放射物理学家和医生组成的团队进行了一到两次实地考察。向这些放疗中心发放了一份详细的调查问卷，以收集和更新每个中心的状况和活动的标准化数据，澄清实地考察期间遇到的一些模糊之处，并将调查扩展到当地审计期间未涉及的问题。
本文报告了单个机构的部门基础设施、人员和设备工作量以及质量控制程序。参与的中心之间在设备和人员方面存在很大差异。对20世纪80年代初收集的数据与最近一次更新期间收集的数据进行比较发现，每台兆伏级设备和每台模拟机的工作量没有差异。每年每位放射治疗师治疗的癌症患者数量似乎略有减少，尤其是在几年前人员严重短缺的中心。观察到每年每位放射物理团队成员治疗的病例数有最显著的改善。放射技师的工作量呈现相反的趋势。
我们的数据库为参与的中心提供了有力的比较依据，以纠正人员和设备的不平衡，并使行政当局相信决策中的优先事项。当前的分析表明，与6年前观察到的情况相比，设备状况没有变化。一些机构必须努力减少模拟机的工作量。本文还提出了参与临床研究的欧洲放疗部门的初步概况和最低建议指南。
