Workshop on Brachytherapy Treatment Techniques: Procedures and Planning

(International Medical Physics Week)
Department of Radiation Oncology, Christian Medical College and Hospital Ludhiana

On 28^th&29^thApril 2023, a workshop on ‘Brachytherapy Treatment Techniques: Procedures and Planning’ was organized by the Department of Radiation Oncology, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana. It was organized in collaboration with the Indian Brachytherapy Society (IBS) and was also financially supported by NAMS and AERB. The workshop was endorsed by AFOMP, AMPI, ESTRO, IOMP, NZAROI, SCMPCR and accredited with 8 credit hours by the Punjab Medical Council. The entire workshop proceedings were held in the Department of Medical Education Conference Hall, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana.

The faculty included renowned radiation oncologists and medical physicists from various reputed hospitals of India. Dr. Bhavna Rai from PGIMER, Chandigarh was the course director, and Dr. DN Sharma from AIIMS New Delhi and Dr Rakesh Kapoor from PGI Chandigarh were the radiation oncology faculty while Dr Arun Chougule from Jaipur, Dr. Arun Oinam from PGI Chandigarh, Dr Seema Sharma from AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr. Frank Hensley from Germany were Medical Physics faculty of the workshop. The workshop was attended by 54 delegates including consultant oncologists, resident doctors, medical physicists and intern medical physicists from various hospitals across North India.

The workshop aimed at highlighting the role and importance of brachytherapy in various cancers, specially the gynecological cancers, head and neck cancers, breast cancer and sarcomas in addition to introduction to rare treatment sites where brachytherapy could be beneficial and provided practical knowledge to the young radiation oncologists and medical physicists about the various types of brachytherapy procedures practiced. The two day workshop had sessions catering to all the basic requisites that one needs to practice brachytherapy in their department and gave them the confidence to take initiatives in the field of brachytherapy.

The workshop started with the inaugural ceremony which was graced by Dr. Jeyaraj Pandian, Principal Christian Medical College Ludhiana, Dr. Allen Joseph, Medical Superintendent, CMC Hospital, Prof Arun Chougule, Observer NAMS, Dr Karamvir Goyal, Observer PMC and all the faculty of the workshop. Dr. Pamela Jeyaraj, Prof and Head Department of Radiation Oncology and the Organizing Chairperson of the Workshop formally welcomed all the guests and delegates and threw light on the objectives of the workshop. Dr. Jeyaraj Pandian highlighted the importance of Brachytherapy and shared insights for dealing with the cancer and non-communicable disease burden of the country. He also appreciated the efforts of the Department of Radiation Oncology for organizing this workshop in a very relevant field of expertise for cancer treatment-brachytherapy. Dr. Allen Joseph spoke on the need of keeping everyone updated with advanced treatment options and developing necessary skills. The inaugural ceremony ended with Dr. Mary Joan, Associate Professor and RSO and the Organizing Secretary of the Workshop extending a vote of thanks to the entire invited faculty, delegates and the team of support persons.

The two day workshop had various sessions which included lectures from the faculty, videos for giving the audience a near-live experience of the OT procedures, live treatment planning and contouring sessions, lectures on the physics & planning of brachytherapy procedures and need of QA/QC, optimization methods, radiobiology of brachytherapy etc. Each teaching session held its own importance and gave the delegates an opportunity to explore each aspect of brachytherapy. Each teaching session ended with discussion and questions and the participants asked their doubts without any apprehension. The discussions continued till the breaks as well and the delegates got ample opportunity to interact with the expert faculty.

The objectives of the workshop were successfully met with the lectures and training sessions. Dr DN Sharma led a session on “Indications of Brachytherapy in the precision RT era” to highlight the role and importance of brachytherapy in the treatment of cancer. Dr. Frank Hensley led a session on “Advanced techniques in Brachytherapy – current status and future scopes” to project the versatility and the benefits of brachytherapy as a radiation therapy modality. Dr. Bhavna Rai led a session on “Imaging and contouring” to bring to light, various advancements in imaging techniques in brachytherapy. To assist delegates to build a conceptual basis for the use of brachytherapy Dr. Arun Chougule led a session on “Radiobiology of Brachytherapy”, Dr Seema Sharma led a session on “Physical principles and calculation algorithms for brachytherapy planning” and Dr Rakesh Kapoor led a session on “Principles of Interstitial Brachytherapy”.Dr DN Sharma led a session on “Indications of Brachytherapy in the precision RT era” and 3 sessions where video demonstration of brachytherapy procedures in various sites were taken by Dr. DN Sharma, Dr. Rakesh Kapoor and Dr. Bhavna Rai to create awareness among Radiation Oncology team about various types of applications and accessible primary sites suitable for brachytherapy procedure. To familiarize the basics of contouring and tumor delineation in brachytherapy, Dr. Bhavna Rai led a session on “Imaging and contouring”, 3 sessions where video demonstration of brachytherapy procedures in various sites were taken by Dr. DN Sharma, Dr. Rakesh Kapoor and Dr. Bhavna Rai and sessions where participants were guided in the art of contouring and planning in brachytherapy by the faculty. To explain the reconstruction and planning techniques to the physicists, Dr Arun S Oinam, Dr Arun Chougule and Dr Seema Sharma led the sessions on “Image guidance – reconstruction and planning”. Dr Arun S Oinam led a session on “Applicator commissioning and Quality Assurance in brachytherapy” to reinstate the importance of QA/QC for equipment as well as procedures. All Faculty monitored a session on “Planning, plan evaluation and dose reporting” to understand the process of optimization and highlight the role of Radiation Oncologist and Medical Physicist. To equip the Radiation Oncologists and Medical Physicists with knowledge and skills so as to establish a brachytherapy facilities in their respective centers there were 3 sessions where video demonstration of brachytherapy procedures in various sites were taken by Dr. DN Sharma, Dr. Rakesh Kapoor and Dr. Bhavna Rai, sessions where participants were guided in the art of contouring and planning in brachytherapy and principles of planning, plan evaluation and dose reporting.

Abstracts on topics related to brachytherapy were invited and the participants were given an opportunity to present their research work and have a discussion with the esteemed faculty of the workshop on prospects of research in brachytherapy and guidance and continued support to carry on with their areas of interests in brachytherapy research.

The workshop concluded with the valedictory session in which feedback was taken from the delegates and the invited faculty. The delegates were satisfied with the workshop and asked for more such training sessions and workshops to be held in future. The faculty was happy with the arrangements too and looked forward to teach more in future through such programs. The invited faculty was given token of appreciation by members of the organizing team and the certificates were distributed to all delegated by the faculty.

A pre workshop survey was conducted among the registered delegates prior to the workshop to get to know about the facilities available and their expectations on the workshop. An online pre and post workshop questionnaire evaluation was conducted on the first day and at the end of the workshop to assess the effectiveness of the workshop and seek the feedback from the delegates. A word finding cross word was conducted to make the learning enjoyable.

The 2-day workshop on ‘Brachytherapy Treatment Techniques: Procedures and Planning’ organized by the Department of Radiation Oncology, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana was completed on a successful note concluding the international medical Physics Week celebrations 2023.