title: Number of patients potentially eligible for proton therapy.
abstract: A group of Swedish radiation oncologists and hospital physicists have estimated the number of patients in Sweden suitable for proton beam therapy in a facility where one of the principal aims is to facilitate randomized and other studies in which the advantage of protons can be shown and the magnitude of the differences compared with optimally administered conventional radiation treatment, also including intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and brachytherapy, can be shown. The estimations have been based on current statistics of tumour incidence in Sweden, number of patients potentially eligible for radiation treatment, scientific support from clinical trials and model dose planning studies and knowledge of the dose-response relations of different tumours together with information on normal tissue complication rates. In Sweden, it is assessed that between 2200 and 2500 patients annually are eligible for proton beam therapy, and that for these patients the potential therapeutic benefit is so great as to justify the additional expense of proton therapy. This constitutes between 14-15% of all irradiated patients annually.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiology and Clinical Immunology, Karolinska Institutet, Akademiska sjukhuset, Uppsala, Stockholm, Sweden. bengt.glimelius@onkologi.uu.se
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Glimelius
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ask
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bjelkengren
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Björk-Eriksson
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blomquist
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zackrisson
mesh_terms: D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D061766:Proton Therapy; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000639:trends*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D011522:Protons
chemical_list: D011522:Protons