The sixth nationwide survey on radiation oncology of continent prefecture of China in 2011

Abstract

Objective In order to evaluate the present status of Radiation Oncology in China,the Chinese Society of Radiation Oncology performed the 6th continent prefecture of China e survey.Methods Questionnaire forms were sent by mail,e-mail,telephone and FAX.Results By August 31 st,2011,there were 1162 radiation oncology centers.There was a total of 30985 employees,including 9895 doctors,1887 physicists,11689 nurses,6103 technicians and 1411 engineers.There were 1296 linear accelerators,286 telecobalt units,81 deep x-ray machine,1040 simulators,376 CT simulators,317 brachytherapy units,1427 treatment planning system,1041 dosimeters,410 X-knife,and 230 γ-knife (122 for head only,108 for head and body).There were 56847 beds for inpatients (4 centers did not report the number of beds).More than 58000 patients were treated per day ( no report from 9 centers ),and 569056 new patients were treated annually (no report from 38 centers).Conclusions Radiation oncology was developed rapidly in the last 5 years,either in personnel,equipment,and new techniques.They are still insufficient in proportion to our population. Key words: Radiotherapy; Radiotherapy center; Radiotherapy equipment; Radiotherapy personnel;