Effectiveness of Educational Intervention on the Congruence of Prostate and Rectal Contouring as Compared With a Gold Standard in Three-Dimensional Radiotherapy for Prostate

Szumacher, Ewa; Harnett, Nicole; Warner, Saar; Kelly, Valerie; Danjoux, Cyril; Barker, Ruth; Woo, Milton; Mah, Kathy; Ackerman, Ida; Dubrowski, Adam; Rose, Stuart; Crook, Juanita

doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2009.02.008

« Previous Next »International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics
Volume 76, Issue 2 , Pages 379-385, 1 February 2010

Effectiveness of Educational Intervention on the Congruence of Prostate and Rectal Contouring as Compared With a Gold Standard in Three-Dimensional Radiotherapy for Prostate

Ewa Szumacher, M.D., M.Ed., F.R.C.P.C.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Reprint requests to: Ewa Szumacher, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, T-Wing, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada. Tel: (416) 480-4982; Fax: (416) 480-6002
Nicole Harnett, M.R.T.(T.)., A.C.T., B.Sc., M.Ed.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Saar Warner, B.A.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Valerie Kelly, M.R.T.(T.).
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Cyril Danjoux, M.D., F.R.C.P.C., D.M.R.T.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ruth Barker, M.R.T.(T.)., B.Sc., M.Ed.
- Department of Radiation Therapy, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Milton Woo, Ph.D.
- Department of Medical Physics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kathy Mah, M.Sc., F.C.C.P.M.
- Department of Medical Physics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ida Ackerman, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Adam Dubrowski, Ph.D.
- Centre for Research in Education, University Health Network (UHN), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Stuart Rose, P.Eng.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Juanita Crook, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Received 15 May 2008; received in revised form 9 January 2009; accepted 2 February 2009. published online 20 May 2009.

Purpose

To examine effects of a teaching intervention on precise delineation of the prostate and rectum during planning of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for prostate cancer.

Methods and Materials

A pretest, posttest, randomized controlled group design was used. During pretest all participants contoured prostate and rectum on planning CT. Afterward, they participated in two types of workshops. The experimental group engaged in an interactive teaching session focused on prostate and rectum MR anatomy compared with CT anatomy. The control group focused on 3D-CRT planning without mention of prostate or rectal contouring. The experimental group practiced on fused MR–CT images, whereas the control group practiced on CT images. All participants completed the posttest.

Results

Thirty-one trainees (12 male, 19 female) were randomly assigned to two groups, 17 in the experimental arm, and 14 in the control group. Seventeen felt familiar or very familiar with pelvic organ contouring, 12 somewhat, and 2 had never done it. Thirteen felt confident with organ contouring, 13 somewhat, and 5 not confident. The demographics and composition of groups were analyzed with χ² and repeated-measures analysis of variance with the two groups (experimental or control) and two tests (pre- or posttest) as factors. Satisfaction with the course and long-term effects of the course on practice were assessed with immediate and delayed surveys. All performance variables showed a similar pattern of results.

Conclusions

The training sessions improved the technical performance similarly in both groups. Participants were satisfied with the course content, and the delayed survey reflected that cognitively participants felt more confident with prostate and rectum contouring and would investigate opportunities to learn more about organ contouring.

Education, Prostate, Radiotherapy