Objectives: Medical physicists (MP) are familiar with assessing new radiation oncology technology and treatments (NROTAT) for their own departments but are not usually involved in providing advice to government for funding these technologies. This paper describes the role of the MP within the Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Aging initiative to develop a generic framework for assessment of NROTAT and the collection of data to support Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) funding of IMRT.
Methods: The clinical trials group TROG is developing a generic framework for the assessment of NROTAT. This will be tested and data collected to support applications for MBS funding of IMRT and IGRT. The tumour sites of nasopharynx, post-prostatectomy and anal canal have been selected to represent sites that are commonly, occasionally and rarely treated with IMRT respectively. Site selection for data collection will represent a broad range of clinical practices. Data quality is assured through TROG QA procedures and will include dosimetry audits. The final report will assess the clinical efficacy, cost effectiveness and safety of IMRT compared to 3DCRT.
Results: Existing clinical trial protocols form the basis for data collection and surrogate endpoints are being developed. Key publications have been identified that correlate specific dose-volume histogram parameters with clinical end-points, recognising limitations of these data in the IMRT setting.
Conclusion: Engagement of MPs within this project will help ensure collection of high quality data that ultimately aims to secure appropriate funding to ensure our patients receive best clinical care.