• Teruki Teshima, Hodaka Numasaki, Hitoshi Shibuya, Masamichi Nishio, Hiroshi Ikeda, Kenji Sekiguchi, Norihiko Kamikonya, Masahiko Koizumi, Masao Tago, Yutaka Ando, Nobuhito Tsukamoto, Atsuro Terahara, Katsumasa Nakamura, Michihide Mitsumori, Tetsuo Nishimura, Masato Hareyama, and Japanese Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Database Committee.
• Department of Medical Physics & Engineering, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan. teshima@sahs.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
• Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 2010 Dec 1; 78 (5): 1483-93.

PurposeTo evaluate the ongoing structure of radiation oncology in Japan in terms of equipment, personnel, patient load, and geographic distribution to identify and improve any deficiencies.Methods And MaterialsA questionnaire-based national structure survey was conducted from March to December 2008 by the Japanese Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (JASTRO). These data were analyzed in terms of the institutional stratification of the Patterns of Care Study.ResultsThe total numbers of new cancer patients and total cancer patients (new and repeat) treated with radiation in 2007 were estimated at 181,000 and 218,000, respectively. There were 807 linear accelerator, 15 telecobalt, 46 Gamma Knife, 45 (60)Co remote-controlled after-loading, and 123 (192)Ir remote-controlled after-loading systems in actual use. The linear accelerator systems used dual-energy function in 539 units (66.8%), three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy in 555 (68.8%), and intensity-modulated radiation therapy in 235 (29.1%). There were 477 JASTRO-certified radiation oncologists, 826.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) radiation oncologists, 68.4 FTE medical physicists, and 1,634 FTE radiation therapists. The number of interstitial radiotherapy (RT) administrations for prostate, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy increased significantly. Patterns of Care Study 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 RT tended to be used for cancer patients.ConclusionsThe Japanese structure has clearly improved during the past 17 years in terms of equipment and its use, although a shortage of personnel and variations in maturity disclosed by Patterns of Care Study stratification were still problematic in 2007.Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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