ADAPT-marketplace – A web-application for XML-based template sharing in radiation oncology

Purpose: The adaption of radiotherapy (RT) plans in response to anatomical and physiological changes during treatment marks a significant shift toward personalized cancer care. However, the complexity of Online Adaptive Radiotherapy (OART) procedures often leads to variability in treatment quality across institutions. The development of planning templates, particularly through the Ethos treatment planning system (TPS) and Intelligent Optimization Engine (IOE) (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA), plays a crucial role in standardizing and streamlining OART. To address the challenges of sharing and optimizing treatment templates across diverse clinical environments, we developed the ADaptive rAdiotherapy Planning Template (ADAPT-) Marketplace to facilitate the exchange of XML-based templates and promote collaborative innovation in the OART community. Methods: ADAPT-Marketplace was developed using the Django web framework, chosen for its security, scalability, and versatility. The platform supports the sharing of XML-based treatment planning templates, compatible with Ethos TPS, and includes features for uploading, downloading, comparing, and editing templates. The development followed a structured process, involving collaborator consultations, prototyping, and both alpha and beta testing. Testing phases included predefined tasks and unscripted evaluations, with feedback collected to refine the platform prior to its official launch. Results: Since its launch in July 2023, ADAPT-Marketplace has registered 65 users from 16 countries and 38 institutions, including academic, non-academic and industrial sectors. Over 50 templates have been uploaded, covering treatment sites such as the pelvis, thorax, head-and-neck, and abdomen. Feedback from alpha and beta testing resulted in key improvements, including enhanced navigation, template validation, and user experience. Conclusion: ADAPT-marketplace provides a centralized platform for sharing and collaborating on treatment planning templates, offering the potential to improve research productivity, facilitate knowledge exchange, and standardize OART practices across institutions.