The current and future burden of cancer incidence in developing countries requires the planning, establishment and upgrade of radiotherapy services at the national level. This publication is a practical guide outlining the main issues at stake when planning national radiotherapy services. It provides an assessment of the cancer burden, evaluates the existing resources and determines what is needed and how to cover the gap in a resource-oriented rational way. The publication will be of practical value to decision makers and program managers in public health facing the organization or re-organization of radiotherapy in their countries.
This publication provides guidelines on how to plan a radiotherapy facility in terms of the strategic master planning process including the legal, technical and infrastructure requirements. It outlines a risk assessment methodology and a typical project work plan, and describes the professional expertise required for the implementation of such a project. Generic templates for a block design are suggested, which include possibilities for future expansion. These templates can be overlaid onto the designated site such that the most efficient workflow between the main functional areas can be ensured. A sample checklist is attached to act as a guideline for project management and to indicate the critical stages in the process where technical expert assistance may be needed. The publication is aimed at professionals and administrators involved in infrastructure development, planning and facility management, as well as engineers, building contractors and radiotherapy professionals.
Cancer treatment is complex and calls for a diverse set of services. Radiation therapy is recognized as an essential tool in the cure and palliation of cancer. Currently, access to radiation treatment is limited in many countries and non-existent in some. This lack of radiation therapy resources exacerbates the burden of disease and underscores the continuing health care disparity among States. Closing this gap represents an essential measure in addressing this global health equity problem. This publication presents a comprehensive overview of the major topics and issues to be taken into consideration when planning a strategy to address this problem, in particular in low and middle income countries. With contributions from leaders in the field, it provides an introduction to the achievements and issues of radiation therapy as a cancer treatment modality around the world. Dedicated chapters focus on the new radiotherapy technologies, proton beams, carbon ion, intraoperative radiotherapy, radiotherapy for children, treatment of HIV-AIDS malignancies, and costing and quality management issues.
This publication provides guidance for designing and implementing radiotherapy programmes, taking into account clinical, medical physics, radiation protection and safety aspects. It reflects current requirements for radiotherapy infrastructure in settings with limited resources. It will be of use to professionals involved in the development, implementation and management of radiotherapy programmes
This open access book provides a valuable resource for hospitals, institutions, and health authorities worldwide in their plans to set up and develop comprehensive cancer care centers. The development and implementation of a comprehensive cancer program allows for a systematic approach to evidence-based strategies of prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and palliation. Comprehensive cancer programs also provide a nexus for the running of clinical trials and implementation of novel cancer therapies with the overall aim of optimizing comprehensive and holistic care of cancer patients and providing them with the best opportunity to improve quality of life and overall survival. This book's self-contained chapter format aims to reinforce the critical importance of comprehensive cancer care centers while providing a practical guide for the essential components needed to achieve them, such as operational considerations, guidelines for best clinical inpatient and outpatient care, and research and quality management structures. Intended to be wide-ranging and applicable at a global level for both high and low income countries, this book is also instructive for regions with limited resources. The Comprehensive Cancer Center: Development, Integration, and Implementation is an essential resource for oncology physicians including hematologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, and oncology nurses as well as hospitals, health departments, university authorities, governments and legislators.
This publication provides guidelines, and highlights the milestones to be achieved by radiotherapy departments in the safe and effective introduction of image guided radiotherapy. Recent advances in external beam radiotherapy include the technology to image the patient in the treatment position, in the treatment room at the time of treatment. Since this technology and associated image techniques, termed image guided radiotherapy, are perceived as the cutting-edge of development in the field of radiotherapy, this publication addresses the concerns of personnel in radiotherapy departments as to the preparatory conditions and resources involved in implementation. Information is also presented on the current status of the evidence supporting the use of image guided radiotherapy in terms of patient outcomes.
Accuracy requirements in radiation oncology have been defined in multiple publications; however, these have been based on differing radiation technologies. In the meantime, the uncertainties in radiation dosimetry reference standards have been reduced and more detailed patient outcome data are available. No comprehensive literature on accuracy and uncertainties in radiotherapy has been published so far. The IAEA has therefore developed a new international consensus document on accuracy requirements and uncertainties in radiation therapy, to promote safer and more effective patient treatments. This publication addresses accuracy and uncertainty issues related to the vast majority of radiotherapy departments including both external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy. It covers clinical, radiobiological, dosimetric, technical and physical aspects.
This publication is aimed at students and teachers involved in teaching programmes in field of medical radiation physics, and it covers the basic medical physics knowledge required in the form of a syllabus for modern radiation oncology. The information will be useful to those preparing for professional certification exams in radiation oncology, medical physics, dosimetry or radiotherapy technology.
This book serves as a practical guide for the use of carbon ions in cancer radiotherapy. On the basis of clinical experience with more than 7,000 patients with various types of tumors treated over a period of nearly 20 years at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, step-by-step procedures and technological development of this modality are highlighted. The book is divided into two sections, the first covering the underlying principles of physics and biology, and the second section is a systematic review by tumor site, concentrating on the role of therapeutic techniques and the pitfalls in treatment planning. Readers will learn of the superior outcomes obtained with carbon-ion therapy for various types of tumors in terms of local control and toxicities. It is essential to understand that the carbon-ion beam is like a two-edged sword: unless it is used properly, it can increase the risk of severe injury to critical organs. In early series of dose-escalation studies, some patients experienced serious adverse effects such as skin ulcers, pneumonitis, intestinal ulcers, and bone necrosis, for which salvage surgery or hospitalization was required. To preclude such detrimental results, the adequacy of therapeutic techniques and dose fractionations was carefully examined in each case. In this way, significant improvements in treatment results have been achieved and major toxicities are no longer observed. With that knowledge, experts in relevant fields expand upon techniques for treatment delivery at each anatomical site, covering indications and optimal treatment planning. With its practical focus, this book will benefit radiation oncologists, medical physicists, medical dosimetrists, radiation therapists, and senior nurses whose work involves radiation therapy, as well as medical oncologists and others who are interested in radiation therapy.
Solving scheduling problems has long presented a challenge for computer scientists and operations researchers. The field continues to expand as researchers and practitioners examine ever more challenging problems and develop automated methods capable of solving them. This book provides 11 case studies in automated scheduling, submitted by leading researchers from across the world. Each case study examines a challenging real-world problem by analysing the problem in detail before investigating how the problem may be solved using state of the art techniques.The areas covered include aircraft scheduling, microprocessor instruction scheduling, sports fixture scheduling, exam scheduling, personnel scheduling and production scheduling. Problem solving methodologies covered include exact as well as (meta)heuristic approaches, such as local search techniques, linear programming, genetic algorithms and ant colony optimisation.The field of automated scheduling has the potential to impact many aspects of our lives and work; this book highlights contributions to the field by world class researchers.
