Potential Role of the Quality Assurance Review Center Platform in Global Radiation Oncology

Abstract

The 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) Cancer Report describes an alarming growth in the cancer burden worldwide and underscores that, of the 14 million new cases of cancer and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths per year, 60% and 70%, respectively, occur in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). These countries are the least capable of dealing with cancer without some form of collaboration. The disparities in cancer-related deaths in part reflect poignant underlying inequalities in access to radiation oncology services; also, a majority of the population groups that experience disparities is significantly underrepresented in cancer clinical trials. One way to narrow this divide in cancer-related services is by including minorities, or populations from diverse backgrounds and resource-poor settings, in clinical trials. In recent publications, we have highlighted the enormous potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs)—technologies used in the transmission, manipulation, and storage of data by electronic means, including the internet, mobile phone systems, broadcast radio, and TV systems—in catalyzing high-impact international collaborations in global radiation oncology. Here, we describe the role of the ICT-powered Quality Assurance Review Center (QARC) platform in global radiation oncology care, research, and education, with the perspective of radiation oncologists at 8 institutions in East and West Africa.