ArticlePhysics and imaging in radiation oncology2026
A survey of practice patterns for patient-specific quality assurance on behalf of the ESTRO dosimetry & quality assurance focus group.
Article in Physics and imaging in radiation oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and purpose: As treatment planning and delivery systems nowadays have the capability to simulate and realise increasingly complex irradiation geometries, quality assurance programs need to be reviewed and extended to include appropriate quality control checks, relevant to the implementation of advanced technologies in clinical practice. The ESTRO dosimetry & quality assurance focus group conducted a survey on current plan/patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) practices in Europe. Methods: A survey was designed to gather information on the current practices of PSQA in Europe for external photon radiotherapy techniques. It comprised 19 questions which aimed to cover current practices on PSQA of radiotherapy treatments, including intensity modulated and stereotactic techniques, as well as adaptive radiotherapy workflows. Furthermore, the study aimed to gain insight into practices where measurement-based PSQA is being reduced, including the rationale behind such decisions. Results: 200 centres participated in the survey. Half of the centres (48%) stated that they do not perform measurement-based PSQA for every new plan. The selection of plans undergoing pre-treatment PSQA with measurements was based on the evaluation of plan complexity or on discrepancies identified through independent dose calculations. The results showed that 42% of the centres have optimised their PSQA strategies. Conclusions: Results showed a lack of harmonization in PSQA practices as well as in strategies to optimise them. Safely adapting quality assurance programs to advanced technologies would benefit from professional guidance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.