Citation

Baeza M. Ann. ICRP 2012; 41(3-4): 179-187.

Affiliation

Instituto de Radiomedicina, Av Americo vespucio Norte 1314 Vitacura, 6671407 Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: mbaeza@rdc.cl.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, International Commission on Radiological Protection, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.icrp.2012.06.001

PMID

23089017

Abstract

Nearly 50-60% of cancer patients will undergo radiotherapy at some point in their treatment. Around 85% of the world's population live in developing countries served by approximately 30% of the world's radiotherapy facilities. It has been suggested that 1 megavoltage unit is required for every 500 new treatment courses per year, while others estimate that 1 megavoltage unit is needed for every 300 new treatments. However, these numbers do not necessarily take into account the development of new technologies and treatment modalities, which are more time- and resource-intensive. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has emphasised that 'purchasing new equipment without a concomitant effort on education and training and on a programme of quality assurance is dangerous', and 'the decision to implement a new technology for radiation therapy should be based on a thorough evaluation of the expected benefits, rather than being driven by the technology itself'. It is estimated that the rate of serious mistakes could be as high as 0.2%, which is several orders of magnitude higher than the rate reported for commercial aviation. So, how safe is safe? It can be stated that the development of a culture of safety is critical and requires efforts in education and training, which could prove difficult in overloaded departments.

Language: en