ArticleThe Lancet. Oncology2021
Radiotherapy resources in Africa: an International Atomic Energy Agency update and analysis of projected needs.
Article in The Lancet. Oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Current status of cancer education in developing and developed countries: identifying the disparities and bridging the gap.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Barriers to Radiotherapy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa for Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- Human Papillomavirus-Associated Head and Neck Malignancies in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.JCO global oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Cervical cancer survival times in Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Knowledge-based treatment planning in breast cancer radiotherapy: comparing different machine learning algorithms.Physical and engineering sciences in medicine · 2026Article
- Does One Size Fit All? Commentary on the HYPNO Trial.International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics · 2026Article
- Invest where impact begins: recommendations from Breast Cancer Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Working Group (Part 1 of 2).NPJ breast cancer · 2026Article
- Global Assessment of Megavoltage External Beam Radiation Therapy Facilities: Current Status and Projections for 2030-2050.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- [Survey of radiotherapy resource allocation and service capacity in Hunan Province, 2025].Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2026Article
- Quantitative analysis of trends and inequalities in disease burden and care quality of gynecological cancers, 1990-2021.European journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation (ECP) · 2026Article
- Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus and Associated Risk Factors Among Individuals With Head and Neck Cancer in a National Referral Center in Tanzania.JCO global oncology · 2026Article
- "…it is not the sickness itself that kills. It is the emotional trauma": a qualitative study of the lived experience and systemic barriers of women with breast cancer in Nigeria.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Haematological, renal and hepatic toxicity profiles of infusional 5-fluorouracil versus capecitabine in African gastrointestinal cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study.Ecancermedicalscience · 2026Article
- Artificial intelligence-assisted radiotherapy for pelvic and abdominal malignancies: assessing feasibility in the context of Africa-specific risks.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Improving equitable access to comprehensive care for people with advanced breast cancer: a global expert review and call-to-action for 2025-2035 (Goal 9).Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2025Review
- Mayo Clinic Global Oncology Fellowship: Development and Implementation of a Novel 2-Year Multidisciplinary Training Program for Oncologists from Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2025Article
- External Radiotherapy in Mozambique: Report of the First Five Years of Activity of the Radiotherapy Service of the Maputo Central Hospital.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
- Bridging the Beam Gap: Expanding Global Access to Stereotactic Radiosurgery Through Policy and Innovation.Cureus · 2025Article
- Assessing delays in accessing and completing radiotherapy for cervical cancer treatment: A multicenter survey of oncology providers in go further-funded countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.Gynecologic oncology reports · 2025Article
- Implementing Remote Radiotherapy Planning to Increase Patient Flow at a Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa: Protocol for a Prospective Feasibility Study.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The number of patients with cancer in Africa has been predicted to increase from 844 279 in 2012 to more than 1·5 million in 2030. However, many countries in Africa still lack access to radiotherapy as a part of comprehensive cancer care. The objective of this analysis is to present an updated overview of radiotherapy resources in Africa and to analyse the gaps and needs of the continent for 2030 in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Data from 54 African countries on teletherapy megavoltage units and brachytherapy afterloaders were extracted from the Directory for Radiotherapy Centres, an electronic, centralised, and continuously updated database of radiotherapy centres. Cancer incidence and future predictions were taken from the GLOBOCAN 2018 database of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Radiotherapy need was estimated using a 64% radiotherapy utilisation rate, while assuming a machine throughput of 500 patients per year. As of March, 2020, 28 (52%) of 54 countries had access to external beam radiotherapy, 21 (39%) had brachytherapy capacity, and no country had a capacity that matched the estimated treatment need. Median income was an important predictor of the availability of megavoltage machines: US$1883 (IQR 914-3269) in countries without any machines versus $4485 (3079-12480) in countries with at least one megavoltage machine (p=0·0003). If radiotherapy expansion continues at the rate observed over the past 7 years, it is unlikely that the continent will meet its radiotherapy needs. This access gap might impact the ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the target to reduce preventable, premature mortality by a third, and meet the target of the cervical cancer elimination strategy of 90% with access to treatment. Urgent, novel initiatives in financing and human capacity building are needed to change the trajectory and provide comprehensive cancer care to patients in Africa in the next decade.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.