The Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium: A publishing powerhouse

The Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium submitted nine abstracts in 2018 that were accepted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society for Radiation Oncology for poster discussions and presentations. The abstracts were as follows:

• Three about breast radiation treatment
• Four covered lung radiation treatment
• One focused on treatment of bone metastases

They covered a range of topics within each disease state, including the impact of active smoking and comorbidities on toxicity, the value of performance metrics, and leveraging national standards to automate treatment planning data collection.

Of particular note is an abstract that MROQC is submitting to the ASCO and ASTRO on racial disparities in radiation therapy treatment. Hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy is now recommended for most women with early-stage breast cancer, but racial differences haven’t been comprehensively evaluated.

MROQC is investigating whether race impacts the type of treatment a patient receives, either hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy or conventionally fractionated radiation therapy. The results of this work will bring attention to racial disparities in cancer treatment and help improve outcomes.

Publications and abstracts are one way that collaborative quality initiatives impact care outside Michigan. By presenting at national society meetings and being published in peer-reviewed journals, CQIs can reach a larger audience that can apply the work to their own practices, increasing the CQI sphere of influence and impacting care beyond participating hospitals. In 2018 alone, CQIs published more than 50 articles and abstracts, and gave numerous presentations nationally and internationally.