title: Overview of brachytherapy resources in Europe: a survey of patterns of care study for brachytherapy in Europe.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE) study is aimed at establishing a detailed information system on brachytherapy throughout Europe.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaire was web-based and the analysis used data from each radiotherapy department with brachytherapy. There were three groups: Group I with 19 countries (15 initial European Community (EC) countries plus Iceland, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland -EC+4-), Group II with 10 countries (New European Community countries -NEC-) and Group III with 14 countries (Other European Countries -OEC-).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the European area there are 36 of 43 countries (85%) which achieved data collection from at least 50% of centres, and were included in the analysis. The tumour site that had the largest number of treated patients was gynaecological tumours. Several variations have been found in the mean number of patients treated per consultant radiation oncologist and physicist; and in the proportion of brachytherapy patients with gynaecology, prostate and breast tumours, by country and by European area. The provided data showed that the average number of brachytherapy patients per centre increased by 10% between 1997 and 2002.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A European wide evaluation of brachytherapy practice using a web-based questionnaire is feasible and that there is considerable variation in both patterns of practice and available resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Català d'Oncologia - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. guedea@iconcologia.net
authors.forename: Ferran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guedea
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Venselaar
authors.forename: Josep Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Borras
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hoskin
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poetter
authors.forename: Germaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heeren
authors.forename: Roselinne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nisin
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: François
authors.forename: Jean Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mazeron
authors.forename: Erik Van
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Limbergen
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taillet
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cottier
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011872:Radiology Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires