A surveillance study of the current status of reirradiation and patterns of practice

The aim of this study was to survey the current status of reirradiation (re-rt) and patterns of practice in japan. an email questionnaire was sent to kansai cancer therapist group partner institutions,using questions similar to those in the canadian radiation oncologist (ro) survey (2008). a total of 34 ros from 28 institutions returned the survey. all 28 institutions experienced re-rt cases in 2014. however,26 of the 28 institutions (93%) reported difficulty in obtaining re-rt case information from their respective databases. responses from 19 institutions included the number of re-rt cases; this rose from 183 in the period 2005-2009 (institution median = 4; 2-12.9) to 562 in the period 2010-2014 (institution median = 26; 2-225). important considerations for indication of re-rt were age (65%),performance status (83%),life expectancy (70%),absence of distant metastases (67%),and interval since previous treatment (73%). previous total radiation dose (48%),volume of tissue irradiated (72%),and the biologically equivalent dose (bed; 68.5%) were taken into account during re-rt planning. these factors were similar to those considered in the canadian survey; however,the present study did not consider age. in eight site-specific scenarios,barring central nervous system recurrence,more than 90% of ros agreed to perform re-rt,which was higher than the percentage observed in the canadian survey. re-rt cases have increased in number and aroused interest among ros in this decade of advanced technology. however,consensus building to establish guidelines for the practice and prospective evaluation of re-rt is required. © the author 2016. published by oxford university press on behalf of the japan radiation research society and japanese society for radiation oncology.