ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Mexico and Central America have the highest childhood cancer incidence in the West. Pediatric-specific oncology knowledge contributes to the disparity. We sought to (1) determine the self-identified treatment patterns and needs of Mexican pediatric radiation oncologists and (2) pilot a workshop to improve contouring accuracy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Partnering with local experts and the Sociedad Mexicana de Radioterapeutas (SOMERA), a 35-question survey was designed to ascertain pediatric radiotherapy capacity and distributed through the SOMERA listserv. The most challenging malignancies were selected for workshop. Participants received precontouring and postcontouring homework to assess improvement per the Dice metric. The Wilcoxon sign-rank test was used for comparative statistics. RESULTS: Ninety-four radiation oncologists attempted and 79 completed the survey. Forty-four (76%) felt comfortable treating a pediatric patient, and 36 (62%) were familiar with national protocols for pediatric treatment. Most had access to nutrition, rehabilitation, endocrinology, and anesthesia; 14% had access to fertility services and 27% to neurocognitive support; 11% noted no support, and only one respondent had child-life support. The postsurvey contouring workshop was conducted for high-grade glioma, medulloblastoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Significant improvements were seen in all target volumes. CONCLUSION: We present the first national survey of Mexico's pediatric radiotherapy capacity and Latin American e-contouring educational intervention with preworkshop and postworkshop Dice metrics, noting statistically significant improvement in all target volumes. Participation improved compared with prior experience through SOMERA partnership and Continuing Medical Education incentivization.
Subject(s)
Radiation Oncology , Humans , Child , Mexico/epidemiology , Medical OncologyABSTRACT
Resumen
El Cyberknife es un sistema de radiocirugía robótica sin marco de fijación, utilizado para tratar tumores benignos, tumores malignos y otras condiciones médicas. El sistema consiste en un método para administrar radiación ionizante con el acelerador lineal en forma localizada y con mayor precisión que con la radioterapia convencional. Como personal ocupacionalmente expuesto (POE), la enfermera debe ejercer todas sus funciones en los servicios y unidades donde se utilizan radiaciones ionizantes con fines médicos; por lo tanto, trabaja en estricta colaboración con el médico radiooncólogo, el físico, el dosimetrista y el técnico de radioterapia, ya que provee los cuidados específicos al paciente en la exploración y el tratamiento.
Abstract
The Cyberknife is a robotic radiosurgery system with no fixation frame, used to treat benign tumors, malignant tumors and other medical conditions. The system consists of a method for administering ionizing radiation with the linear accelerator in a localized form and with greater accuracy than with conventional radiotherapy. As an Occupationally Exposed Personnel (NPO), the nurse must perform all her functions in the services and units where medical ionizing radiation is used; therefore, it works in strict collaboration with the radiologist, the physicist, the medical dosimetrist and the radiotherapy technician, since it provides the specific care to the patient in the exploration and treatment.
