EDUCATION

Bridging the Radiotherapy Education Gap

Equipment without trained operators is wasted capacity. The radiotherapy gap is, fundamentally, an education gap.
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A shortage of trained radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists is the most pressing constraint on expanding access to safe, effective radiotherapy in many regions.

Why Training Is the Bottleneck

Radiotherapy machines have become more accessible globally, but the workforce required to operate them safely has not kept pace. The result is underused equipment, long waiting lists, and avoidable variation in patient outcomes.

Building a pipeline of qualified practitioners requires multi-year investment in curricula, clinical placements, and faculty development — work that does not deliver headlines but does deliver patient care.

The most impactful donation any partner can make to a regional radiotherapy programme is often not equipment, but a structured training partnership.

What Effective Programmes Share

The training programmes that have meaningfully shifted regional capacity blend local clinical immersion with mentorship from established centres, supported by accreditation pathways that travel across borders.

Lead Authors

Jose M. Martin-Moreno, MD, PhD

Jose M. Martin-Moreno, MD, PhD

SENIOR ESMO PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE

Received his medical and public health education and training from the University of Granada (Spain) and Harvard University (USA). His main speciality is preventive medicine and public health, with particular emphasis on health policy and cancer control.

Eduardo Cazap, MD, PhD, FASCO

Eduardo Cazap, MD, PhD, FASCO

DEPUTY CHAIR, ESMO EMERGING COUNTRIES COMMITTEE

Founder and first President of the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology (SLACOM). Immediate Past President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC-Geneva) and member of the Executive Committee of the National Cancer Institute of Argentina.