In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), 85% of cervical cancer diagnoses and 88% of cervical cancer deaths occur annually.1,2 The majority of presentations (with reports up to 75%)3 are locally advanced (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages IB2 and IIBIVA) where combination external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) followed by brachytherapy is indicated for curative treatment.4 Despite large bodies of evidence that radiation therapy (RT) is effective for treating cancer, a shortage of economic investment limits its availability and contributes to global shortages.5,6 RT is generally described as a costeffective treatment, but only limited data exists about the institutional cost of combination RT in LMICs.7 Understanding treatment costs is critical for cancer capacity planning efforts, particularly in regions where radiation oncology is less understood or newly ...

PURPOSE. With the existing oncology disparities in Latin America, physician expertise has been cited as a possible contributor to inferior oncologic outcomes in some cancers. As two-dimensional radiotherapy rapidly evolved to intensity-modulated radiation therapy in Latin America, adequate contouring education is an actionable target to improving physician knowledge and clinical outcomes. Yet, topics of interest to Latin American radiation oncologists are underreported. We assessed Latin American interest in a virtual platform for case discussion and identified the educational topics of most interest to them. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A Spanish-language online survey was designed by a team of Latin American educators. The questions assessed professional nationality, desire for an online educational platform for case presentation, career length, and topics of interest. Educational topics inc...

Background: Continuing medical education in stereotactic technology are scarcely accessible in developing countries. We report the results of upscaling a longitudinal telehealth training course on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), after successfully developing a pilot course in Latin America. Methods: Longitudinal training on SBRT and SRS was provided to radiation oncology practitioners in Peru and Colombia at no cost. The program included sixteen weekly 1-hour live conferencing sessions with interactive didactics and a cloud-based platform for case-based learning. Participant-reported confidence was measured in 16 SBRT/SRS practical domains, based on a 1-to-5 Likert scale. Pre- and post-curriculum exams were required for participation credit. Knowledge-baseline, pre- and post-curriculum surveys, overall and single professional-group confiden...

Purpose: Latin America faces a shortage in radiation therapy (RT) units and qualified personnel for timely and high-quality treatment of patients with cancer. Investing in equitable and inclusive access to RT over the next decade would prevent thousands of deaths. Measuring the investment gap and payoff is necessary for stakeholder discussions and capacity planning efforts. Methods and Materials: Data were collected from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Directory of Radiotherapy Centers, industry stakeholders, and individual surveys sent to national scientific societies. Nationwide data on available devices and personnel were compiled. The 10 most common cancers in 2020 with RT indication and their respective incidence rates were considered for gap calculations. The gross 2-year financial return on investment was calculated based on an average monthly salary across Latin Ame...