Radiotherapy for cancer cluster
Data Set Specification Attributes
Identifying and definitional attributes | |
Metadata item type: | Data Set Specification |
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METEOR identifier: | 418354 |
Registration status: | Health!, Superseded 08/05/2014 |
DSS type: | Data Element Cluster |
Scope: | The radiotherapy cluster consists of those data elements recommended for collection as best practice when the patient receives radiotherapy as part of the initial course of treatment for cancer. The radiotherapy cluster collects information on the radiotherapy type, dose, fractions, target site and the start and finish dates for each course of treatment. Information on the type, dose, fractions and target site of radiotherapy is required to evaluate patterns of care, the effectiveness of different treatment modalities and treatment by patient outcome. Collecting the start and finish dates will enable an estimate of the duration of radiotherapy and the time interval from diagnosis to treatment. The use of standard definitions and formats supports the consistent collection and management of data and enables the integration of data from different sources. It provides a common language facilitating the interpretation and analysis of results, data linkage for statistical purposes, longitudinal studies and patient patterns of care and outcome studies. These results may then inform professional guidelines and training, quality assurance and the planning and evaluation of cancer control activities, potentially improving outcomes for patients. |
Collection and usage attributes | |
Guide for use: | Capturing the radiotherapy dose and fractions is problematic at some target sites, for example, head and neck cancers and breast cancers. In these cases, treatment is complex with the use of multiple treatment fields and the overall total dose may need to be determined manually by the radiation oncologist. |
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Collection methods: | The radiotherapy type, dose, fractions, target site and start and finish dates are recorded for each course of radiotherapy the patient received during the initial course of treatment for cancer regardless of treatment intent or timing. The data element Healthcare provider—organisation identifier, N(16) may be recorded for each treatment. It is recommended that, wherever possible, the database be configured to allow entry of different healthcare provider identifiers for each therapeutic course of treatment. The initial course of treatment includes all treatments administered to the patient from diagnosis and before disease progression or recurrence. Information regarding radiotherapy will typically be found in the radiation oncologist's summary letter for the initial course of treatment Determining the total dose, number of fractions and target site of radiotherapy may require assistance from the radiation oncologist for consistent coding. |
Source and reference attributes | |
Submitting organisation: | Cancer Australia |
Relational attributes | |
Related metadata references: | Has been superseded by Radiotherapy for cancer cluster Health!, Standard 08/05/2014 See also Cancer treatment—cancer treatment type, code N[N] Health!, Superseded 08/05/2014 |
Implementation in Data Set Specifications: | Cancer (clinical) DSS Health!, Superseded 08/05/2014 Conditional obligation: Conditional on the patient receiving radiotherapy. |
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