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

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) ( 1 Stewart B.W. Wild C.P. World Cancer Report 2014. World Health Organization, 2014: 1-2 Google Scholar ). 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 ( 2 Ford J.G. Howerton M.W. Lai G.Y. et al. Barriers to recruiting underrepresented populations to cancer clinical trials: A systematic review. Cancer. 2008; 112: 228-242 Crossref PubMed Scopus (665) Google Scholar ). 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 ( 3 Ngwa W. Ngoma T. Zietman A. et al. Closing the cancer divide through Ubuntu: Information and communication technology-powered models for global radiation oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016; 94: 440-449 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (20) Google Scholar , 4 Ngwa W. Sajo E. Ngoma T. et al. Potential for information and communication technologies to catalyze global collaborations in radiation oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2015; 91: 444-447 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (20) Google Scholar , 5 Ngwa W. Ngoma T. Emerging Models for Global Health in Radiation Oncology. IOP Publishing, Bristol, Philadelphia2016 Crossref Scopus (10) Google Scholar ). 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 ( 6 FitzGerald T.J. A new model for imaging and radiation therapy quality assurance in the National Clinical Trials Network of the National Cancer Institute. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2014; 88: 272-273 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar ).