Analysis of the radiotherapy facilities in 33 European countries has shown considerable disparity across the continent, with countries in eastern and southeastern Europe being largely underequipped compared with northern and western countries. Timely investment in the radiotherapy infrastructure is required to address the growing burden of cancer care.
Key Points
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Analysis of the Directory of Radiotherapy Centres (DIRAC) database suggests large disparity in the availability and organization of radiotherapy services between countries in Europe
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This finding is of major public health importance as the access to radiotherapy is an essential component of cancer care
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S. Senan and B. J. Slotman have received travel support and speakers honoraria from Varian Medical Systems. The department has received research support from Varian medical systems and BrainLab AG.
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Senan, S., Slotman, B. Radiotherapy capacity in Europe—time to even things out?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 10, 188–190 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.36
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.36