Infrastructures, treatment modalities, and workload of radiation oncology departments in Spain with special attention to prostate cancer

Aim The purpose of the study was to describe infrastructures, treatment modalities, and workload in radiation oncology (RO) in Spain, referred particularly to prostate cancer (PC). Methods An epidemiologic, cross-sectional study was performed during 2008–2009. A study-specific questionnaire was sent to the 108 RO-registered departments. Results One hundred and two departments answered the survey, and six were contacted by telephone. Centers operated 236 treatment units: 23 (9.7 %) cobalt machines, 37 (15.7 %) mono-energetic linear accelerators, and 176 (74.6 %) multi-energy linear accelerators. Sixty-one (56.4 %) and 33 (30.5 %) departments, respectively, reported intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided RT (IGRT) capabilities; three-dimensional-conformal RT was used in 75.8 % of patients. Virtual simulators were present in 95 departments (88.0 %), 35 use conventional simulators. Fifty-one departments (47.2 %) have brachytherapy units, 38 (35.2 %) perform prostatic implants. Departments saw a mean of 24.9 new patients/week; the number of patients treated annually was 102,054, corresponding to 88.4 % of patients with a RT indication. In 56.5 % of the hospitals, multidisciplinary teams were available to treat PC. Conclusions Results provide an accurate picture of current situation of RO in Spain, showing a trend toward the progressive introduction of new technologies (IMRT, IGRT, brachytherapy).