HMC and IAEA organise training on calibrating radiotherapy machine

By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter With the aim of imparting training on how to accurately calibrate the radiotherapy machine, which is vital in averting incidences that could lead to adverse impacts in the treatment of cancer, the Hamad Medical Corporation and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have organised the first ‘Regional Training Course on Calibration of External Beam Radiotherapy Equipment’. The course, which is being organised as part of the IAEA’s global programme on cancer treatment for professionals in developing countries such as South America, Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, is being attended by nearly 17 regional participants from Qatar, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Oman and the UAE. Radiotherapy is known to be one of the safest methods of modern medicine and one of the major treatment options in cancer management. Yet, for some, the treatment could still bring harm, or even death. The process of radiotherapy is complex and involves thorough understanding of the principles of medical physics, radio-biology, radiation safety, dosimetry, radiotherapy planning, simulation and interaction of radiation therapy with other treatment modalities. “Radiation therapy is highly physics-oriented, and thus, is not easy to understand… which is why the HMC and the IAEA are conducting this training for health professionals involved in the radiation treatment,” HMC’ National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) Radiation Oncology chief medical physicist Rabih Wafiq Hammoud said on the sidelines of the course yesterday. The main health professionals involved in radiation treatment are Radiation Oncologists (RO), Radiation Therapists (RT) and Medical Physicists (MP). Each of these disciplines work through an integrated process to plan and deliver radiotherapy to patients, Hammoud said. “We consider this kind of training on accurately calibrating the radiation therapy machine highly essential because of many radiation incidences across the world due to mis-calibration of the machines and lack of proper education and expertise in the field,” he explained. Hammoud said that the course aims to address one of the two major aspects of radiotherapy that are vital in averting adverse impacts like brain tumor or even death, in the treatment of patients. “The two aspects that must not be missing on the list when we are talking of administering radiation therapy are technology and education. And at NCCCR, we are very fortunate to have highly educated staff, majority of whom are Western-trained or America- or Europe-certified,” the official said. He also mentioned that the centre is well-equipped with high technology, which is why the IAEA has chosen HMC’s Radiology Department as a counterpart in delivering the course in the region. Hammoud said that NCCCR has put in place a monitoring system ensuring standards auditing, which has earned the centre the recognition as IAEA programme’s first centre of excellence in the region. “On a daily basis, we conduct a comprehensive assessment programme, which check the measurement of radiation doses being administered to patients,” he added. The World Health Organisation recommends that, according to best available practice, 52% of patients should receive radiotherapy at least once during the treatment of their cancer. Together with other modes of treatment such as surgery and chemotherapy, it plays an important role in the treatment of 40% of patients who are cured of cancer, the WHO says. Radiotherapy is also a highly effective treatment option for palliation and symptom control in the cases of advanced or recurrent cancer.