• Seung Jae Huh and Korean Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (KOSTRO).
• Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. sj5201.huh@samsung.com
• Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. 2007 Aug 1; 37 (8): 623-7.

BackgroundAn analysis of radiotherapy infrastructure in Korea was performed in 2006 to collect data on treatment devices, the work force and new patients for future development plans.MethodsThe survey included radiotherapy centers, their major equipment and personnel. The centers were categorized into four levels: level 0 (stand-alone teletherapy units); level 1 (teletherapy, brachytherapy, treatment planning system, and at least the part-time service of a medical physicist); level 2 (level 1 plus individual customized radiotherapy block and full-time medical physicist); and level 3 [level 2 plus intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), intra-operative radiation therapy or stereotactic radiotherapy].ResultsA total of 61 facilities delivered radiation therapy with 104 megavoltage devices, which included 96 linear accelerators, two cobalt 60 units, three Tomotherapy, two CyberKnife units and one proton accelerator. There were 28,789 new radiotherapy patients in 2004. Personnel included 132 radiation oncologists, 50 radiation oncology residents, 64 physicists, 130 nurses and 369 radiation therapy technologists. Thirty-two percent (20 facilities) used a CT-simulator, 66% (40) used a PET or PET-CT scanner, and 35% (22) had the capacity to implement IMRT. Centers were also divided into four levels: 41% were included in level 3, 31% in level 2, 25% in level 1 and 3% in level 0.ConclusionsThere is a shortage of human resources. The distribution of megavoltage units per million inhabitants over the country was inadequate; geographic disparities were noted. Furthermore, the necessity of quality assurance for recent high-technology radiation therapy is increasing.

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