Preliminary analysis of the resources in brachytherapy in Europe and its variability of use

Abstract

The main objective of the program <<Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE)>> is to establish a group with detailed information on brachytherapy throughout Europe. The data was compiled by the general coordinator, the ESTRO, and the <<National Cancer Services Analysis>> through a website. A total of 32 countries reported data from at least 50% of their centres (criteria of inclusion). Countries were grouped in three categories based on the time of incorporation to the European Union. The majority of treatments belonged to gynaecological tumours. A large spread was found regarding workload of specialists depending on centre and group. Collection of information by a website is a feasible methodology. An increase in brachytherapy treatment was observed in all 3 groups by a rate of more than 20% (year 2002 versus year 1997). These results advocate for the continuation of the PCBE study to demonstrate the development in the field, such as an increase or decrease of patient numbers per tumour category.