Availability of technology for managing cancer patients in the Southeast European (SEE) region

• Published in: Clinical and translational radiation oncology 2022-05, Vol.34, p.57-66
• Main Authors: Dosanjh, Manjit, Ristova, Mimoza, Gershan, Vesna, Georgieva, Petya, Balin Kovacevic, Marijana, Bregu, Ledio, Coralic, Irma, Djurovic, Tamara, Dosieva, Deyana, Foka, Yiota, Fröbe, Ana, Hatziioannou, Konstantinos, Hourdakis, Costas J., Kabashi, Yllka, Kalev, Dimitar, Kurtishi, Ilir, Litov, Leandar, Mezelxhiu, Beqir, Nestoroska Madjunarova, Svetlana, Nikolova, Gordana, Skrk, Damijan, Smajlbegovic, Velda, Smichkoska, Snezana, Stojkovski, Igor, Strojan, Primož, Tecic, Zdravka, Tešanović, Dušanka, Todorovic, Vladimir, Valerianova, Zdravka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer patients; Cancer registries; Diagnostic equipment; Radiation therapy equipment; SEE region; SEEIIST
• ISSN: 2405-6308; 2405-6308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctro.2022.03.004

•Gap of public on-the-ground cancer data was addressed through questionnaires to professionals in the SEE region.•There is a lack of diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy modalities in the SEE region in comparison to Western Europe.•The Mortality to incidence ratio correlates inversely with the economic development and the availability of radiotherapy equipment.•The cancer incidence in SEE countries was correlate directly with the life expectancy and the availability of diagnostic equipment.•The need for reliable national and regional cancer registries in SEE countries for data collection and analysis has been emphasized. The Southeast European (SEE) region of 10 countries and about 43 million people differs from Western Europe in that most SEE countries lack active cancer registries and have fewer diagnostic imaging devices and radiotherapy (RT) units. The main objective of this research is to initiate a common platform for gathering SEE regional cancer data from the ground up to help these countries develop common cancer management strategies. To obtain detailed on-the-ground information, we developed separate questionnaires for two SEE groups: a) ONCO - oncologists regarding cancer treatment modalities and the availability of diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy equipment; and b) REG - national radiation protection and safety regulatory bodies regarding diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy equipment in SEE facilities. Based on responses from 13/17 ONCO participants (at least one from each country) and from 9/10 REG participants (all countries but Albania), cancer incidence rates are higher in those SEE countries that have greater access to diagnostic imaging equipment while cancer mortality-to-incidence (MIR) ratios are higher in countries that lack radiotherapy equipment. By combining unique SEE region information with data available from major global databases, we demonstrated that the availability of diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy equipment in the SEE countries is related to their economic development. While immediate diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy capacity building is necessary, it is also essential to develop both national and SEE-regional cancer registries in order to understand the heterogeneity of each country’s needs and to establish regional collaborative strategies for combating cancer.