Treatment Of Cancer In Hospitals Shows A Decrease In The Use Of Radiotherapy Procedures

The Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the Universidad de Granada, in Andalusian hospitals radiotherapy is not used as much as should be expected for the treatment of cancer, in favour of other procedures such as chemotherapy or surgery. The study, carried out by Doctor Patricia Cabrera Roldan, and directed by Professor Jose Exposito Hernandez, revealed that the application of radiotherapy treatment often exceeds appropriate time limits, and varies a lot depending on the hospital in which such treatment is applied.

This study is based on the data of patients, treated in any of the 10 Andalusian public hospitals during a period of one year, who were submitted to radiotherapy procedures for the treatment of tumours in the breast, lung, head and neck, cervix and endometrium. The researchers' main objectives were to analyse the frequency of application of radiotherapy treatment in patients suffering from cancer (rate of radiation) and to determine the existence of substantial differences in the application of radiotherapy treatment among different hospitals.

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