Radiation Oncology Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Radiother Oncol. 2012 Apr;103(1):109-12. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2011.12.026. Epub 2012 Feb 8.
New evidence based regimens and novel high precision technology have reinforced the important role of radiotherapy in the management of cancer. Current data estimate that more than 50% of all cancer patients would benefit from radiotherapy during the course of their disease. Within recent years, the radiotherapy community has become more than conscious of the ever-increasing necessity to come up with objective data to endorse the crucial role and position of radiation therapy within the rapidly changing global oncology landscape. In an era of ever expanding health care costs, proven safety and effectiveness is not sufficient anymore to obtain funding, objective data about cost and cost-effectiveness are nowadays additionally requested. It is in this context that ESTRO is launching the HERO-project (Health Economics in Radiation Oncology), with the overall aim to develop a knowledge base and a model for health economic evaluation of radiation treatments at the European level. To accomplish these objectives, the HERO project will address needs, accessibility, cost and cost-effectiveness of radiotherapy. The results will raise the profile of radiotherapy in the European cancer management context and help countries prioritizing radiotherapy as a highly cost-effective treatment strategy. This article describes the different steps and aims within the HERO-project, starting from evidence on the role of radiotherapy within the global oncology landscape and highlighting weaknesses that may undermine this position.
新的循证治疗方案和新型高精度技术增强了放射治疗在癌症治疗管理中的重要作用。目前的数据估计，超过 50%的癌症患者在其病程中会受益于放射治疗。近年来，放射治疗界越来越意识到，必须提出客观数据来支持放疗在快速变化的全球肿瘤学领域中的关键作用和地位。在医疗保健成本不断膨胀的时代，仅证明安全性和有效性已不足以获得资金，现在还需要关于成本和成本效益的客观数据。正是在这种背景下，ESTRO 启动了 HERO 项目（放射肿瘤学中的健康经济学），其总体目标是在欧洲层面上为放射治疗的健康经济评估开发知识库和模型。为了实现这些目标，HERO 项目将解决放射治疗的需求、可及性、成本和成本效益。研究结果将提高放射治疗在欧洲癌症管理环境中的地位，并帮助各国将放射治疗作为一种高成本效益的治疗策略进行优先排序。本文描述了 HERO 项目中的不同步骤和目标，从放射治疗在全球肿瘤学领域中的作用的证据开始，并强调可能破坏这一地位的弱点。
