Comparison of Planning Techniques in Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Multicentre Study in Hospital Medical Physics Teaching Units.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37004/sefm/2025.26.2.001Keywords:
Breast cancer, Radiotherapy, Teaching unit, competency-based learning, multicenter studyAbstract
We propose an exercise that applies competency-based learning and evaluates the variety of external radiotherapy techniques used in different teaching units in Spain to treat breast cancer.
Those attending the Fundamentals of Medical Physics course filled in a form where they presented the techniques used in their hospitals. The information for planning (tomographic images and structures) in free breathing and forced inspiration was shared with them and they made a planning according to the usual techniques of each hospital. A code was developed to compare data from different planners and the statistical significance of the dosimetric difference in different volumes was analyzed.
The results show a wide variety of techniques used, with 3D conformal radiotherapy (37.5%) and volumetric intensity-modulated arc therapy (34.4%) standing out. Regarding planning, better coverage of target volumes and lower dose to organs at risk was obtained for the patient treated in forced inspiration. The influence of the resident's training time was also analyzed.
The proposed exercise serves to evaluate the resident's skill in radiotherapy planning for breast cancer treatment. The data to replicate the exercise are available in a repository.
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