Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Rural Medical College - Department of Radiation Oncology

Introduction

A) Year of Establishment : August 1996.

B) Location: Located in basement of OPD building of Pravara Rural Hospital. Build up area is almost 1400 sq. mtr. As per AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) norms, the room plans of Teletherapy, Brachytherapy, Treatment Planning System (TPS) and simulator are approved.

C) Salient features :

Department was started in August 1996 with Theratron 780C Tele-Cobalt unit for external radiotherapy treatment. Brachytherapy treatment facility was started in September 1997 with GammaMed 12i HDR / PDR remote after loader unit, which was the first of its kind imported from Germany in India. Treatment Planning System (TPS) was added in the department at the same time for accurate treatment planning. Brachyvision 3-D treatment planning system was added in November 2008. Brachytherapy facility has been upgraded to 3-Dimensional Brachytherapy by GammaMed iX Plus HDR / PDR remote after loader unit in 2010. Theratron 780C Tele-Cobalt unit was decommissioned after twenty years of patient’s treatment in 2016. More than ten thousand patients have been treated on this Telecobalt unit with good treatment results.

Subsequently the Department acquired a 6 MV medical Linear Accelerator (LA) unit for external radiotherapy treatment (Varian – Clinac – DBX 6 MV with EPID) having 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy (3D-CRT) and Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) facility from May 2012. Treatment planning system has been upgraded from version 11.3 to 15.6 for External beam radiotherapy planning & Brachytherapy Planning in 2019-20. Treatment Planning for Linear accelerator is done with Eclipse Ver 15.6 - 3D TPS & ARIA – Record and verification system. IMatriXX, RFA, Phantoms etc. equipment’s are available for dosimetry and treatment verification. Department has Mold Room facility, Day Care Ward as well as Indoor facility.

Clinical Material:

Since, the establishments of the department in 1996, thousands of patients have been treated by external radiotherapy, brachytherapy and chemotherapy. Palliative care is offered to terminally ill patients. Average of 25-45 patients are treated daily on Linear Accelerator unit and 1-2 patients on brachytherapy unit. 4-12 patients are provided daycare facility for chemotherapy & supportive care. 40 beds are available in male and female wards for indoor care. Around 25-40 patients are admitted in male and female wards for indoor care. Patient’s treatment is usually started on the same week they report, as there is no waiting list.

Teaching Program :

Master’s Degree (M.D.) and Diploma (D.M.R.T.) in Radiation Oncology has been started since 2007 with intake capacity of 2 students per year. Department has got permission for 5 M.D. Radiation oncology seats per year from academic year 2020-21. Department is entitled for Ph.D. in Radiation Oncology, Medical physics & related subjects. Various teaching programs for under graduates and post graduates of Medical, Dental, Physiotherapy and Nursing students are carried out in the department. Department has approval from AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) to give internship to 2 students per year in the medical physics department. Department has recently started with the B. Sc. Radiotherapy Technology (B.Sc. RTT) course from October 2020-21 with the intake capacity of 5 students per year. Department is also authorized for observer ship programs for medical physics and Radiotherapy Technologists. Department is running value added course on “Chemotherapy Drug Administration & Various Precautions” for the students of GNM & B.Sc. Nursing Courses.

Academic Infrastructure :

Department has departmental library with 141 books. 2 Seminar rooms are available with LCD projector for various academic activities in the department. Departmental museum with 32 chart, 20 specimens, and Brachytherapy applicators, various chemotherapy drugs and Medical Radiation physics equipment’s are available in the department.

Research Activities :

Students are encouraged to undertake, PGs as part of their curriculum in the form of dissertation and UG’s as short-term projects with support of ICMR. Department is running with various faculty projects. Department has ICMR-HBCR-NCDIR project for cancer registry with govt. of India.

D) Outreach Activities :

Department is actively involved in various cancer detection camps organized by Pravara Rural Hospital and in e-health programs to spread awareness about cancer. Department is running with the cancer awareness program for patients & relatives in the day care ward for breast self-examination & self-oral examination. Department is also running program for “Awareness and attitude on substance use among the school going students from 8th to 12th standard of Loni and Pravaranagar”.

E) Thrust areas of research:

1. Community Oncology
2. Awareness and prevention of cancer
3. Screening and early detection of Cancer

F) Future Action plans

1. To develop center of excellence in phase wise manner.
2. Installation of second unit of advanced linear accelerator with dual energy and electrons facility.
3. Installation of CT Simulator.