Project SPECTRA (Sustainability Practice for Enhancing Cancer Treatment in RAdiotherapy) was announced at the THASTRO mid-year scientific meeting in the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, with the attendance of various distinguished healthcare professionals in the local cancer treatment industry. SPECTRA aims to empower local healthcare professionals with the latest knowledge and know-how of radiotherapy in cancer treatment.

As of 2019, Thailand’s population is approximately 70 million people, of whom more than 170,000 are diagnosed with cancer every year. The top cancer diagnoses were 1) lung cancer, 2) liver cancer, 3) breast cancer, 4) rectal cancer, and 5) cervical cancer. The increase in the number of cancer diagnoses is also remarkable. As of 2018, the number of cancer diagnoses for breast cancer and lung cancer was 19,510 and 23,057, respectively, and is expected to increase to 23,336 (breast cancer) and 43,014 (lung cancer) by 2040. Cancer is, therefore, considered a disease that is the most serious threat to the health of Thai people.

In addition, treatment for cervical cancer has also attracted attention in recent years. It is prevalent in Africa and Southeast Asia. In response to this situation, in 2020, the Director-General of the WHO issued a statement stating that by reducing the death rate from cervical cancer in each country to 4 per 100,000 people per year, the ultimate goal is to be free of cervical cancer in the world. Brachytherapy is considered one of the most effective treatments and plays an important role in cancer patients, accounting for approximately 60 percent of patients.

Nowadays, although the number of cancer patients is increasing every year, having modern technology or medical innovations to help care for cancer patients is considered a new hope for survival. The current methods of radiation therapy need to be improved in three ways:

1) Strengthening the medical system: To meet the demand for radiotherapy, it is necessary to improve diagnostic and treatment equipment and human resources.

2) Developing and maintaining experts: To provide high-quality radiotherapy, developing experts and enhancing continuous education programs is necessary.

3) Promoting collaboration and information sharing: Strengthening collaboration and information sharing among medical institutions and professionals will enable sharing best practices and mutual complementation of experiences.

The project was adopted by the JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), as part of the digitalization of treatment planning a collaboration with THASTRO (Thai Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Society), SweCham (Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce), Elekta and Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) joined together to launch Project SPECTRA (Sustainability Practice for Enhancing Cancer Treatment in RAdiotherapy) in Thailand. The objective is to standardize new radiation therapy plans in a low-cost, cloud-based application called ProKnow. The Microsoft Azure-based cloud platform can run on client PCs without investing in new hardware, such as large servers. It is a platform that allows facilitation personnel to participate virtually in the cloud environment.

The cloud-based application allows you to rate the quality of your treatment plans and identify areas for improvement. It is an open data platform created with treatment planning devices manufactured by other companies. They can be viewed and evaluated using the ProKnow application as well. Additionally, this is also an effective support for skill development.

Using the ProKnow app, healthcare professionals can create a precise radiation treatment plan based on the patient’s specific condition and tumor characteristics. A treatment plan allows healthcare professionals to deliver the correct dose to the tumor and minimize damage to healthy tissue. On the other hand, treatment planning requires complicated work, and the quality varies depending on the operator. Therefore, it is necessary to standardize radiotherapy treatment plans for Thailand. Accessibility is also the key to success, but also improving the quality of care with high precision treatment.

In the coming days, the first training of SPECTRA will be conducted. Healthcare professionals across Thailand and, by extension, cancer patients, as well as their loved ones, will be empowered in the years to come.