Expanding global radiotherapy access via telemedicine

Abstract

AIMS: Cancer is a leading cause of death globally. Over 70% of the 10 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2020 occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Radiotherapy is an important cancer treatment, used in half of cancer patients. Significant global disparities in radiotherapy access exist, with low access in low- and middle-income countries. The benefits of tele-radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries for expanding global radiotherapy access are yet to be fully realized. In this paper, we highlight potential applications of tele-radiotherapy in expanding access to high-quality radiotherapy in developing countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a literature search to retrieve studies involving telemedicine applications in radiotherapy to provide a comprehensive overview of the topic. PubMed database served as the main source for retrieving studies, using the following search terms: ('telemedicine', 'radiotherapy', 'telehealth', 'remote monitoring', 'oncology', and 'remote training'). Additional selected papers were obtained from Web of Science, and Google Scholar using the same search terms. RESULTS: Telemedicine in radiotherapy has many applications. Virtual training could upgrade radiotherapy skills in low- and middle-income countries, enabling safe adoption of new radiotherapy techniques and quality assurance. Tele-radiotherapy consultations and patient follow-up could improve the efficiency of clinics while tele-radiotherapy planning and peer-review could enable equitable global access to radiotherapy expertise. Telemedicine could also facilitate wider global access to radiotherapy trials. While telemedicine in radiotherapy holds significant promise in improving global radiotherapy access, several barriers to its adoption exist. These include a lack of infrastructure, data security concerns, regulatory challenges, resistance from providers and patients, financial constraints, miscommunication during remote consultations, and lack of training. CONCLUSION: Tele-radiotherapy applications hold promise in providing solutions to overcome global radiotherapy access inequity but the benefits of tele-radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries are yet to be fully realized.