Aims

We describe the absolute and per capita numbers of megavoltage radiotherapy machines (MVMs) in Western Africa from 1969 to 2019.

Materials and methods

Western Africa was defined in accordance with the United Nations' delineation and inclusive of 16 countries. A literature search for publications detailing the number of cobalt-60 machines (COs) and linear accelerators (LINACs) in radiotherapy centres was carried out. Population data from the World Bank Group and crude cancer rates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer were used to calculate ratios of million persons per MVM and MVMs per 1000 cancer cases.

Results

The numbers of MVMs in Western Africa in 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009 were zero, two, three, six and nine, respectively. In 2019 there were 22 MVMs distributed across Ghana (five), Côte d’Ivoire (two), Mali (one), Mauritania (two), Nigeria (nine) and Senegal (three). Nine countries (56.3%) had no history of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The largest increase in absolute EBRT capacity occurred from 2017 to 2019, during which 13 MVMs were commissioned. The largest decrease in EBRT capacity occurred from 2015 to 2017, during which four LINACs and three COs were rendered non-operational. The ratio of million persons per MVM improved from 67.0 in 1979 to 17.8 in 2019. As of 2019, there was 0.09 MVM per 1000 cancer cases.

Conclusions

Western African nations have experienced an increase in the absolute number of MVMs and per capita radiotherapy capacity during the last 50 years, especially in the last decade. As non-functional LINACs contributed to a temporary decline in the EBRT infrastructure, dual use of CO/LINAC technologies may act to promote the availability of EBRT treatment in centres with capacity for multiple MVMs.

中文翻译：

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西非的外照射放疗：1969-2019

宗旨

我们描述了 1969 年至 2019 年西非兆压放射治疗机 (MVM) 的绝对数量和人均数量。

材料和方法

西非按照联合国的划定，包括16个国家。对详细介绍放射治疗中心钴 60 机器 (CO) 和直线加速器 (LINAC) 数量的出版物进行了文献检索。世界银行集团的人口数据和国际癌症研究机构的粗癌症率被用来计算百万人/MVM 和每 1000 例癌症病例 MVM 的比率。

结果

1969年、1979年、1989年、1999年和2009年西非MVM的数量分别为0、2、3、6和9。2019 年，共有 22 台 MVM 分布在加纳（5 个）、科特迪瓦（2 个）、马里（1 个）、毛里塔尼亚（2 个）、尼日利亚（9 个）和塞内加尔（3 个）。9 个国家 (56.3%) 没有外照射放疗 (EBRT) 的历史。EBRT 绝对容量增幅最大的是 2017 年至 2019 年，在此期间调试了 13 台 MVM。EBRT 容量的最大下降发生在 2015 年至 2017 年，在此期间，四台 LINAC 和三台 CO 无法运行。每个 MVM 的百万人比率从 1979 年的 67.0 提高到 2019 年的 17.8。截至 2019 年，每 1000 例癌症病例中有 0.09 MVM。

结论

在过去的 50 年中，尤其是在过去的十年中，西非国家经历了 MVM 绝对数量和人均放射治疗能力的增加。由于非功能性 LINAC 导致 EBRT 基础设施的暂时下降，CO/LINAC 技术的双重使用可能会促进具有多个 MVM 能力的中心的 EBRT 治疗的可用性。