Materials and Methods: This descriptive, pattern of care study was carried out via an online questionnaire. The survey was sent to a total of 95 cancer care centres in Spain.
Results: Seventy-three centres (76.8%) responded to the survey. More than half (57.5%) of responding centres offered brachytherapy (BT). A mean of 120 patients/centre were treated by BT in 2007. The most common localisations were the endometrium (29.6% of cases), prostate (29.6%), cervix uteri (14.6%), breast (12.6%), head and neck (3.6%) and vagina (2.5%). Other sites accounted for less than 2% of cases each. Most centres that offered BT (33/40=82.5%) were equipped with a dedicated BT operating room. The most commonly reported dosimetric method was CT dosimetry (31 of 40 centres=77.5%), followed by plain film (30/40=75%), ultrasound (26/40=65%), MRI (8/40=20%), in vivo (7/40=17.5%) and PET-CT (5/40=12.5%) dosimetry.
Conclusion: The three most common treatment sites (gynaecological, breast and prostate) remain unchanged from 2002, with prostate treatments showing large increase. Advanced dosimetric techniques (MRI, PET-CT and CTdosimetry) continue to gain adherents. Some centres treat small numbers of patients, a finding that deserves more attention in terms of cost and quality of care. Although BT remains strong in Spain, it could be further strengthened by making modern dosimetric techniques and treatments more widely available.
Written by:
Guedea F, López-Torrecilla J, Londres B, Ventura M, Bilbao P, Borràs JM. Are you the author?
Department of Radiation Oncology, Catalan Institute of Oncology, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
Reference: Clin Transl Oncol. 2012 Jan;14(1):36-42.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22262717
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