Datta Niloy Ranjan, Rajasekar David
Department of Radiotherapy, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
Lancet Oncol. 2004 Nov;5(11):695-8. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(04)01613-4.
Incidence of cancer has been projected to rise worldwide by around 50% in the next 20 years, most of which will be in developing countries. To face this unprecedented global health problem, it is essential to plan effective health-care strategies. Radiotherapy-a main component of the multidisciplinary therapeutic approach for cancer-involves a huge capital investment that can pose difficulties for developing countries. Limited resources should therefore be used effectively to meet the projected requirements and to find ways to offer quality-assured radiotherapy to patients. Taking advantage of the global explosion of telecommunication technology, we present a proposal for creation of an integrated three-tier radiotherapy service, which consists of primary, secondary, and tertiary radiotherapy centres in developing countries-coordinated through a teleradiotherapy network. Such a network could be cost effective, help to bridge the gap, and give all patients access to the state-of-the-art technology in radiotherapy.
预计在未来20年里，全球癌症发病率将上升约50%，其中大部分增长将发生在发展中国家。为应对这一前所未有的全球健康问题，制定有效的医疗保健策略至关重要。放射治疗作为癌症多学科治疗方法的主要组成部分，需要巨额资本投资，这对发展中国家来说可能构成困难。因此，应有效利用有限资源，以满足预计需求，并找到为患者提供有质量保证的放射治疗的方法。利用全球电信技术的迅猛发展，我们提出一项创建综合三级放射治疗服务的提议，该服务由发展中国家的初级、二级和三级放射治疗中心组成，并通过远程放射治疗网络进行协调。这样一个网络可能具有成本效益，有助于缩小差距，并使所有患者都能获得放射治疗的先进技术。
