MEDICAL PHYSICS IN SUPPORT OF CANCER MANAGEMENT: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF CANCER CONTROL PROGRAMMES

Transcription

1 PROSPECTUS MEDICAL PHYSICS IN SUPPORT OF CANCER MANAGEMENT: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF CANCER CONTROL PROGRAMMES RAF/6/ Title: Place: Regional (AFRA) Training course on Dosimetry and QA/QC in High Dose Rate Brachytherapy Johannesburg, South Africa Date: October 2007 Deadline for nominations: 3 August 2007 (Application form received after the deadline will not be considered) Organizer: Participation: International Atomic Energy Agency in cooperation with the Government of South Africa through University of the Witwatersrand /Johannesburg Hospital The course is addressed to Radiation oncologist and clinical medical physicists. The candidature of a team consisting of a radiation oncologist and a clinical medical physicist should be sent from each participating country to the IAEA. Countries are encouraged to submit multiple candidatures to IAEA. Background Information: Brachytherapy is a practice of delivering radiation to tumours by placing radioactive sources either within or immediately adjacent to tumour tissue. Brachytherapy can be administered by low dose-rate (LDR)or high dose-rate (HDR) techniques, depending on the length of time the radioactive sources remain in place. With low dose rate brachytherapy, the radioactive sources are positioned inside or immediately adjacent to the tumour for a minimum of several days but may be left in the tissue permanently. For HDR brachytherapy applications, a radioactive source is placed in the tumour volume temporarily, for just a few minutes at a time, and then removed. HDR brachytherapy treatments are often completed in a few outpatient visits with minimal recovery time. The source is guided to the correct position using catheters and a remote after-loader. Since the source position can be precisely adjusted, customized dose distributions can be created to meet specific patient's needs. HDR brachytherapy is most commonly used to treat prostate, cervical, and head and neck cancer; although, the flexibility of our HDR system allows us to use this technology for a wide range of malignancies. Recent technological advances, especially in imaging, have led to significant breakthroughs in the delivery of HDR brachytherapy. Brachytherapy is planned and delivered by a dedicated team Page 1 of 5

2 of experts in HDR brachytherapy comprising a radiation oncologist, a medical physicist and an oncology nurse. For brachytherapy, the responsibilities of medical physicists include commissioning, dosimetry, planning and proper implementation of quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) programmes. HDR Brachytherapy implementation can be hectic and stressful, creating an environment in which mistakes may happen. The development and implementation of a robust QA/QC programme can eliminate the occurrence of mistakes. In the field of dosimetry, the verification of the calibration of radiation sources is necessary before treatment delivery. The IAEA TECDOC-1274 includes calibration procedures for the main types of brachytherapy sources. The responsibilities of radiation oncologists include clinical examination before the actual procedure with special emphasis on staging and imaging procedures. It also include treatment planning optimization and dose prescription, while actual application of either HDR or LDR brachytherapy is usually done in a team environment with oncology nurse/radiation therapy technologists. Language: English Purpose of the Training Course: The proposed course is intended to train selected participants of the Regional Project Dosimetry and QA/QC in Brachytherapy. It will cover brachytherapy in general, but the main focus will be on high dose rate brachytherapy. Participants Qualifications: The course is designed for approximately 20 participants from AFRA Member States participating in RAF6031 Medical Physics in Support of Cancer Management and RAF6033 Human Resource Development in Radiation Oncology in the Context of Cancer Control Programmes. The candidature of multidisciplinary teams consisting of a radiation oncologist and a medical physicist should be sent to the IAEA. Preference will be given to teams working in radiotherapy departments that deliver HDR brachytherapy treatments. The medical physics candidates should be university graduates in physics or engineering with at least 2 years experience in a radiotherapy department, and involved in high dose rate brachytherapy. The radiation oncologist candidates should be university/medical school graduates with specialization in radiotherapy/radiation oncology with at least of 2 years experience postspecialization exam. Nature of the Course: The course will consist of lectures and practical exercises. After the workshop, the trainees will become familiar with the main technical aspects that need consideration in the implementation of high dose rate brachytherapy applications. Page 2 of 5

3 Application procedure: Nominations should be submitted on the standard IAEA nomination forms for training courses. Completed forms should be endorsed by, and returned through the official channels established (AFRA National Coordinator). They must be received by the IAEA, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, not later than the stated deadline. Nominations received after that date or applications sent directly by individuals cannot be considered. It is suggested that advance information: name, age, academic background, present position, and working address (including facsimile and telephone numbers), to enable the Secretariat to make preliminary evaluation of the candidates. Name and address of course director: Prof. Debbie van der Merwe and Prof. Bernard Dondi University of the Witwatersrand /Johannesburg Hospital 7 York Road 2194 Parktown South Africa Tel: Fax: Postal address: AREA 248, Johannesburg Hospital Private Bag X Johannesburg South Africa s: Prof. Bernard Dondi: dondeb@medicine.wits.ac.za Prof. Debbie van der Merwe: vandermerwedg@medicine.wits.ac.za Administrative and financial arrangements: 1. Nominating Governments will be informed in due course of the candidates selected and will be given full details of the procedure to be followed with regard to administrative and financial arrangements. The IAEA will provide the participants round-trip air travel, economy class, from their home countries to the host country and back by the most direct route. During their attendance at the Training Course, participants will be provided by the IAEA with a stipend sufficient to cover the cost of their accommodation and food expenses. The organizers of the Training Course do not accept liability for the payment of any costs or compensation that may arise from damage to or loss of personal property, or from illness, injury, disability or death of a participant while he/she is traveling to and from or attending the Training Course and it is clearly understood that each Government, in nominating participants, undertakes Page 3 of 5

4 responsibility for such coverage. Governments will be well advised to take out insurance against such risk. 2. The stipends are calculated on the basis of living costs of the host country and price of accommodation. These are sufficient to cover all expenses related to the participation in AFRA training events. 3. Visa arrangements, including transit visas, are the sole responsibility of the participant. He/she should initiate the necessary actions for obtaining a visa prior to departure. In case the host country of the training course has no representation in the candidate s country, the latter should send, well in advance, preferably together with the nomination form, to the local coordinator (course director) all necessary biodata (full name and address, passport number, expiry/issuance dates, birth place and date, and arrival details) and request an entry visa to be made available to him/her at arrival. Language certificate: Basic Security in The Field: The Course Director could help to provide this type of assistance and, therefore, the candidate should initiate this action and make sure that the biodata reach the Course Director in time (with copy to the IAEA). In the case of countries in which English is not an official or customary language, nominations must be accompanied by a separate certificate of the candidate s proficiency in English. This certificate must be issued by a language school or cultural institution, or an embassy of a country in which the language of the course is spoken. Training on Basic Security in the Field (BSITF): In order to comply with UN system-wide security measures, it has become a requirement for all IAEA selected participants to have successfully completed the course Basic Security in the Field: Safety, Health and Welfare prior to traveling to attend any training course. The aim of the course is to educate participants on how best to avoid or minimize potential dangers and threats, and to show what individuals can do if they find themselves in insecure situations. The course is available on CD-ROM, to be obtained from the IAEA National Liaison Officer in each participant country and online through an IAEA specific website. Successful completion of the course is mandatory for attendance at any IAEA training course. Candidates are, therefore, advised to get in touch with the National Liaison Officer in their country to obtain the CD-ROM and to pass the exam as soon as the application form is submitted to the IAEA. Please do not wait for the IAEA acceptance to perform this task. The certificate is compulsory for any IAEA-supported activity. We further advise you to submit the certificate along with the Page 4 of 5

5 Nomination Form through the competent authority in your country. This will avoid last minute intense preparation from your side as we will not authorize any provision of air tickets or stipends, nor security clearance for individual participant without the timely submission of the certificate. Page 5 of 5