title: Overview of brachytherapy resources in Latin America: a patterns-of-care survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Relatively little is known about available resources and patterns of practice for brachytherapy (BT) in Latin America. To rectify this situation, we performed a patterns-of-care survey whose aim was to assess the human and material resources available for BT in Latin America and document current clinical practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 392 radiotherapy (RT) centers located in 17 Latin American countries were asked to complete an online survey that included detailed questions about BT practices, facilities, and staffing. The study was coordinated through central offices located in Spain and Peru. National coordinators were appointed to manage the survey in each individual country.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 77 of the 392 institutions (20%) completed the questionnaire. Of the 14 countries with at least one response, the participation rate was 35% (77 of 223 RT centers). The average number of patients (RT+BT) per center was 917. The mean number of BT patients per center increased by 46% (from 105 to 153 patients) from 2002 to 2007. Gynecologic localizations (endometrium, cervix, and vagina) accounted for 95% of treatments, and the uterine cervix was the most common tumor site (75% of all treatments).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Latin America, BT is most commonly used to treat gynecologic tumors, particularly of the cervix. Relatively few interventions were performed for breast and prostate. This was the first study of its kind in this region and should be repeated periodically.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. guedea@iconcologia.net
authors.forename: Ferran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guedea
authors.forename: Montse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Londres
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pinillos
authors.forename: Adela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poitevin
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ospino
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cordova
authors.forename: Rolando
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Britton
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarria
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sempere
authors.forename: Rene Luis
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bulnes
authors.forename: Nalya Cruz
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Erik Van
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Limbergen
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haie-Meder
authors.forename: Gyorgy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kovacs
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D016526:Workload