Quality assurance in radiotherapy. Proceedings of the working meeting

Major efforts have been made to develop and implement Quality Assurance (QA) methodologies, aimed at reducing various sources of errors to ensure not only a high standard of radiation treatment, but first and foremost to prevent radiation accidents. Institutional QA programmes as well as inter-institutional programmes have to be implemented, together with audits by external reference national or international bodies. One of the main goals of this seminar was to deal with the design, harmonization and structures of QA programmes in different countries, as well as with implementation of these programmes at the institutional, national, regional and international levels. These activities can lead to a global QA network having the potential to significantly improve standards of care for millions of cancer patients worldwide. The meeting was jointly organized by the International Society for Radiation Oncology (ISRO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The meeting was attended by approximately 120 participants and observers representing national societies for radiation therapy and radiation medical physics in 35 countries and seven international organizations