Radiation Therapy Quality Assurance at Kenyan Cancer Centres
Abstract
Purpose
To conduct a national quality control project at Kenyan cancer centres in an effort to assess agreement between radiation treatment planning and delivery at Kenyan cancer centres.
Methods
Two 2-person teams, one based in Nairobi, the other in Eldoret, will check open fields for basic systems commissioning accuracy, and 3DCRT fields and VMAT beams for treatment accuracy at multiple cancer centres in Kenya. In phase 1, 6 MV photon beams are measured in a water tank using central axis point doses for three field sizes and two depths. MU used for delivery of 300 cGy will be based on calculations using each institution’s treatment planning system (TPS). Instructions and a spreadsheet for documenting results were distributed to the two teams. Feedback was provided during bi-weekly meetings. Results were collated and evaluated. This research is supported by the Princess Margaret Global Cancer Program and the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Results
To date, calculations and measurements were completed at 7 Kenyan and 1 NA institutions. TPS/accelerator combinations are RayStation/Elekta Infinity, Eclipse AAA/Varian VitalBeam or Clinac IX, Monaco/Elekta Harmony or Versa HD. Agreements between calculated and measured doses ranged from -0.67 to 2.64% with an average and standard deviation of 1.02% +/-0.88% for all measurements. At one center, the test was performed in PMMA due to a broken water tank.
Conclusion
Results indicate that agreements between TPS prediction and accelerator output are largely (80%) within 2%. Some higher results require more investigation. The project shows that treatment systems in Kenya were commissioned accurately at multiple cancer centres, which indicates good potential for treatment quality similar to that in high income countries. The project also shows that international peer collaborations can be successful, innovative, and impactful.