Radiotherapy for Cancer Control

Often considered overly technical and specialized, radiotherapy or radiation therapy is in fact an essential, irreplaceable element of cancer treatment. Without access to radiation therapy, patients with many types of cancer cannot be cured, while others will have much reduced survival times. Radiotherapy also plays in essential role in pain control and palliation of incurable disease. Thus, radiotherapy is central part of truly equitable access to cancer treatment worldwide.

However, according to International Atomic Energy Agency, of the nearly 14,000 radiotherapy machines worldwide, only 30% are in middle-income countries, while a shocking 3% are in low-income countries. Many countries do not have a single radiotherapy machine, requiring patients to travel great distances for a chance at treatment. Beyond machines, access to trained radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, and personnel essential to the provision of radiotherapy varies widely. As 70% of cancer patients will live in low and middle-income settings by 2020, this disparity in access to machines signals a current and growing disparity in access to cancer care across the globe. A broad, multidisciplinary global health movement is needed to tackle this disparity and bring radiotherapy to the forefront of global health and global cancer care.