Servicios públicos de radioterapia y su relación en el control del cáncer en el Perú 2021

Introduction: Radiotherapy is one of the available cancer treatment modalities and plays a central role, given that it is estimated that between 50% and 60% of cancer patients require this resource at some point in their treatment. Objective. To determine the situational analysis of public radiotherapy services and their relationship to cancer control in Peru during 2021. Materials and methods. Observational, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was administered, and official reports from the Ministry of Health and the six oncology institutions included in the study were documented: IREN Sur, Hospital Escobedo ESSALUD, Hospital Virgen de la Puerta ESSALUD, IREN Centro, Hospital Goyeneche MINSA, and Hospital Rebagliati. Results. Of the eight criteria for the structure indicator, seven had an acceptable compliance standard, and one was intermediate (“Access to Radiotherapy Oncology Services”). Regarding the process indicator, all 15 criteria had an acceptable standard. While in the outcome indicator, three criteria were acceptable, two were intermediate, and one was deficient (“Patients satisfied with the treatment received”). The correlation coefficients between the care indicators and cancer control were: general situation (r=0.677), structure (r=0.730), processes (r=0.517), and outcomes (r=-0.394); however, none were statistically significant (p>0.050). Conclusions. The quality indicators in radiation oncology were mostly acceptable with respect to structure and, to a lesser extent, with respect to processes, as were the outcome indicators.