Research and Education Newsletter v35- Internal - Flipbook - Page 11
Division of Radiation Oncology Annual Research and Education Newsletter: Fiscal Year 2020
Into the Cloud: Enhancing
Radiation Treatment Planning
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
Within the Division of Radiation Oncology, our clinicians perform
physician-to-physician peer review of approximately 12,000
radiation treatment plans annually at the main campus, Houston
area locations, and across the nation-wide MD Anderson Cancer
Network.
Before a patient begins radiation therapy, a treatment plan is
created to fit the specific needs of the patient to achieve the best
possible outcome. Many factors are considered when creating a
optimal treatment with the most limited toxicity,” says Karen
Hoffman, M.D., who is one of two alliance Principal Investigators
(PIs), together with Laurence Court, Ph.D.
This partnership has the potential to not only benefit patients
at MD Anderson, but it may also have significant impact for
our collaborators at the cancer network hospitals. “We already
partner with the cancer network to do real-time peer review
of radiation therapy treatment plans, but we expect that this
Laurence Court, Ph.D. (top left), Thomas Whitaker, Ph.D. (top right), Karen Hoffman, M.D., M.H.Sc., M.P.H.
(bottom left), and Roman Wicha, Ph.D. (bottom right)
plan: the patient’s clinical history, the appropriateness of the area
being treated, and how it compares to internal standards and
international standards of care.
To improve this complex process, a strategic alliance with Varian
Medical Systems was established to develop a cloud-based
platform through which radiation oncologists, dosimetrists, and
medical physicists may collaborate in the planning, review, and
delivery of radiation therapy.
“I believe in the importance of providing
the highest quality possible plans for our
patients in order to deliver the most optimal
treatment with the most limited toxicity.”
“I feel very fortunate to be involved and a part of this process
because I believe in the importance of providing the highest
quality possible plans for our patients in order to deliver the most
Patients ring the bell to mark a milestone in their cancer treatment.
platform is going to improve the efficiency and quality of that
process,” says Court, the other alliance PI.
Through centralized communications, data integration,
standardized documentation, and integrated standards, the
quality and value of radiation therapy peer-review will be
augmented while reducing the amount of time it takes to review
radiation treatment cases.
“By improving consistency of treatments and collecting data from
many patients (within and external to the MD Anderson main
campus), it gives us the ability to really thoroughly understand
how different types of treatment give different outcomes and to
optimize the patient-specific plan,” says Court.
With this goal in mind, Hoffman and Court will be working closely
with other division faculty, our colleagues in Information Services,
and the team at Varian Medical Systems to improve the overall
quality of radiation treatment plans and optimize the therapeutic
benefit of radiation therapy delivered to cancer patients at MD
Anderson and beyond.
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