Archive · 24 Jul 2025
India Needs More Radiotherapy Machines for Cancer Care
Imagine a special treatment called radiotherapy that helps fight cancer.
A new study in India found that not enough people who need this treatment are getting it.
The study says that while about 58% of cancer patients in India should ideally get radiotherapy, only 28.5% actually do.
This is because there aren't enough machines and the ones available aren't distributed evenly.
The biggest need is for cancers like breast, lung, and head/neck.
The country needs many more machines to provide the necessary care and is working on making the treatment more available and affordable.
ICMR study reveals significant shortfall in radiotherapy utilization across all cancer types in India.
Only 28.5% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy, far less than the estimated optimal rate of 58.4%.
Breast, head and neck, lung, and cervical cancers account for 60% of India's radiotherapy needs.
India needs 1,585 to 2,545 radiotherapy machines to meet the demand, with only 794 currently available.
Study recommends increased investment and equitable distribution of radiotherapy services to improve cancer care.
- Who
- ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) researchers.
- What
- A study highlighting a shortfall in radiotherapy utilization across all cancer types in India.
- When
- Published in BMC Cancer journal, data collected recently.
- Where
- India
- Why
- To assess radiotherapy demand, identify gaps in utilization, and recommend improvements in cancer care.
Radiotherapy Shortfall
Proposed Solutions
Reasons for Shortfall
Radiotherapy Shortfall
Lack of sufficient machines for radiotherapy, inequitable distribution of services, high setup and operational costs.
Proposed Solutions
N/A
- Radiotherapy Utilization
- 28.5% of cancer patients
- Optimal Radiotherapy Rate
- 58.4%
- Cancer Types Requiring Most Radiotherapy
- Breast, head and neck, lung, cervical
- Machines Needed
- 1,585 to 2,545
- Current Machines Available
- 794
- Cancer Incidence in India by 2025
- 1.57 million cases (projected)