Summary and conclusions of the SBU report on Radiotherapy for cancer systematic literature review
Routines for quality assurance in radiotherapy should be developed and should also cover the quality of care and services.10. Future studies on the effects of various treatment options for patients with cancer should also investigate the impact on the patient's quality of life and wellbeing. Mo...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Stockholm
Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment
2003, May 2003
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| Collection: | National Center for Biotechnology Information - Collection details see MPG.ReNa |
| Summary: | Routines for quality assurance in radiotherapy should be developed and should also cover the quality of care and services.10. Future studies on the effects of various treatment options for patients with cancer should also investigate the impact on the patient's quality of life and wellbeing. More detailed investigations of both immediate and long-term side effects are needed. There are too few studies of this type 1. Treatment of cancer patients includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, all of which are part of the concept of oncological treatment. 2. In Sweden, radiotherapy for solid tumours is practiced in general agreement with the evidence presented in the scientific literature. 3. The role which radiotherapy plays in the curative and palliative treatment of patients with certain types of cancer has been documented. However, the evidence must be substantially strengthened through randomized controlled trials addressing the following issues: 1. The relative advantages and disadvantages of different types of palliative treatment. 2. Comparative studies of radiotherapy in relation to other treatment options for certain types of cancer. 3. Comparative studies of side effects and patients' quality of life from different methods of radiotherapy and other types of treatment. 4. To develop and improve the care and treatment of patients with cancer, more patients must be included in clinical trials. 5. Curative radiotherapy is an important complement to treatment, mainly surgery, for most types of cancer addressed in this report. 6. Palliative radiotherapy has increased, which is in line with the projection presented in the previous SBU report. 7. The volume and capacity of radiotherapy in Sweden is now largely the same as in other Western nations. 8. It is essential to review the structure, organization, and resource utilization of oncology services. The advantages and disadvantages of centralizing treatment resources for patients with unusual types of cancer should be investigated. Such a review is essential to guarantee access to adequately trained staff and the medical outcome of cancer treatment. The staff requirements for cancer radiotherapy are uncertain, and hence it is essential to study this issue. 9. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 PDF file (26 pages) illustrations |