Quality assurance in surgical oncology (QASO) within the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC): current status and future prospects

The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) has a long history in the development of quality assurance, in particular in ra dio- and chemotherapy. Quality assurance in surgical oncology is considered to be more complicated, because it is a multistep procedure depending on t he individual. Because of the growing importance of the quality of surgical intervention in the multi-modality treatment approach of most cancers, the EORTC recently decided to investigate the current status of quality assura nce programmes, both outside and within. the EORTC. The review of EORTC inv olvement in this area has been conducted on the basis of interviews with su bcommittee chairmen and Data Center teams of the EORTC clinical research gr oups. In addition, clinical trial protocols, case report forms (CRFs) and p ublications by the EORTC groups related to this field were considered as po ssible sources of information, Several methods have been used or are curren tly under investigation to ensure the quality of surgery within clinical tr ials. These include review of reported data, standardisation of surgery and pathology forms, training sessions and site visits. However, there has bee n no attempt to harmonise these initiatives across the different medical sp ecialties. The EORTC will have to address this problem within its short-ter m scientific strategy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.