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Severe shortage of radiation oncologists looms: study

by Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | October 22, 2010
Over the next decade, the demand for radiation oncologists will be 10 times greater than the supply of the medical specialists, according to a new survey.

The shortage could compel radiologists and oncologists to better collaborate to reduce lag times between discovery of a cancer and treatment, researchers said.

Researchers with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said the number of cancer patients needing the services of a radiation oncologist will rise 22 percent between 2010 and 2020. But the number of new radiation oncologists entering the field will only inch up 2 percent.
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The results of the study, appearing in the Oct. 18 issue of The Journal of Clinical Oncology, are based on projections created by examining the current number of board-certified radiation oncologists and residents who would become certified by 2014. By taking into account retirement age and other factors, the researchers simulated the class make-up for the coming decade.

In the United States this year, 3,943 radiation oncologists will treat an estimated 470,000 patients, the researchers said.

On the demand side, the researchers said the increase in patients needing radiation therapy is fueled by demographic changes, including increases in the number of elderly and minorities, in whom certain cancers are more common. The study, led by Dr. Benjamin Smith, assistant professor of radiation oncology at M.D. Anderson, said that the need for radiation therapy will grow 38 percent among Americans 65 and older and 45 percent among minorities.

"While our projections in the number of full-time practicing radiation oncologists are the most accurate to date, the actual gap between patients and radiation oncologists will depend on the role of and need for radiation therapy in the future," Smith said in a statement.

To help alleviate the shortage or better manage resources in the face of it, Smith recommended increasing the size of residency programs, using advanced practice nurses or physician assistants to help manage radiation therapy patients, and even offering shorter radiation treatment courses, which can be just as effective as longer ones for some cases.