title: Japanese structure survey of radiation oncology in 2009 based on institutional stratification of the Patterns of Care Study.
abstract: The ongoing structure of radiation oncology in Japan in terms of equipment, personnel, patient load and geographic distribution was evaluated in order to radiation identify and improve any deficiencies. A questionnaire-based national structure survey was conducted from March 2010 to January 2011 by the Japanese Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (JASTRO). These data were analyzed in terms of the institutional stratification of the Patterns of Care Study (PCS). The total numbers of new cancer patients and total of cancer patients (new and repeat) treated with radiation in 2009 were estimated at 201,000 and 240,000, respectively. The type and numbers of systems in actual use consisted of Linac (816), telecobalt (9), Gamma Knife (46), (60)Co remote afterloading system (RALS) (29) and (192)Ir RALS systems (130). The Linac systems used dual energy function for 586 (71.8%), 3DCRT for 663 (81.3%) and IMRT for 337 units (41.3%). There were 529 JASTRO-certified radiation oncologists (ROs), 939.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) ROs, 113.1 FTE medical physicists and 1836 FTE radiation therapists. The frequency of interstitial radiation therapy use for prostate and of intensity-modulated radiotherapy increased significantly. PCS stratification can clearly identify the maturity of structures based on their academic nature and caseload. Geographically, the more JASTRO-certified physicians there were in a given area, the more radiation therapy tended to be used for cancer patients. In conclusion, the Japanese structure has clearly improved during the past 19 years in terms of equipment and its use, although a shortage of manpower and variations in maturity disclosed by PCS stratification remained problematic in 2009.
authors: Department of Medical Physics & Engineering, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan. teshima@sahs.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors: Teruki
authors: T
authors: Teshima
authors: Hodaka
authors: H
authors: Numasaki
authors: Masamichi
authors: M
authors: Nishio
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Ikeda
authors: Kenji
authors: K
authors: Sekiguchi
authors: Norihiko
authors: N
authors: Kamikonya
authors: Masahiko
authors: M
authors: Koizumi
authors: Masao
authors: M
authors: Tago
authors: Yutaka
authors: Y
authors: Ando
authors: Nobuhito
authors: N
authors: Tsukamoto
authors: Atsuro
authors: A
authors: Terahara
authors: Katsumasa
authors: K
authors: Nakamura
authors: Masao
authors: M
authors: Murakami
authors: Mitsuhiro
authors: M
authors: Takahashi
authors: Tetsuo
authors: T
authors: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000295:instrumentation; D012955:Societies, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce