Lancet Commission 2015: Global Access to Radiology
2015
This Lancet Commission report considers the role of radiotherapy in cancer treatment and care worldwide. For many of the most common cancers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), radiotherapy is essential for effective treatment. In high-income countries (HICs), radiotherapy is used to treat cancer in more than half of all cases to cure localized disease, to palliate symptoms, and to control disease in incurable cancers. However, worldwide access to radiotherapy is unacceptably low. The authors present a new body of evidence that quantifies the worldwide coverage of radiotherapy services by country. The report documents the shortfall in access to radiotherapy by country and globally for 2015–2035 based on current and projected need. It also demonstrates substantial health and economic benefits to investing in radiotherapy. The results provide compelling evidence that investment in radiotherapy not only enables treatment of large number of cancer cases to save lives, it also brings positive economic benefits.
Lancet Commission 2015: Global Access to Radiology
Source:
Atun R et al. Expanding Global Access to Radiotherapy. The Lancet Oncology 2015; 16: 1153–1186. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00222-3.