Initial experience with the quality assurance program of radiation therapy on behalf of Japan Radiation Oncology Group (JAROG).

Background: We evaluated the efficacy of our quality assurance (QA) program of radiation therapy (RT) in a prospective phase II study. This is the first description of the experience of the Japan Radiation Oncology Group (JAROG) with this program.

Methods: Clinical records, all diagnostic radiological films or color photos that depicted the extent of disease of 37 patients with stage IEA extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) were collected for review. Radiation therapy charts, simulation films or digitally reconstructed radiographs, portal films and isodose distributions at the central axis plan were also reviewed. All documents were digitally processed, mounted on Microsoft PowerPoint, and for security returned from researchers by mail in CD-ROM format. The QA committee members reviewed all documents centrally, utilizing the slide show functionality.

Results: All patients were prescribed their specified dose to the dose specification point in accordance with the protocol. Three patients were regarded as deviations, because of a smaller margin than that specified in the protocol (n = 2) or a prolonged overall treatment time (n = 1). No violations were observed in this study.

Conclusions: This is the first report with regard to the QA program in MALT lymphoma. We demonstrated that our QA program was simple and inexpensive. We also confirmed that the radiation oncologists in Japan adhered closely to the protocol guidelines.