Session Item

More than 50% of newly diagnosed patients will receive this type of treatment. Access to radiotherapy varies greatly between countries and depends on their level of wealth. In Lebanon, a middle-income country, radiotherapy is well developed. However, no published report quantifies access to radiotherapy. The recent economic crisis is seriously altering the quality of oncology care and risking a health crisis by compromising access to radiotherapy. The financial obstacle is expected to be the main barrier. The main objective of this study is to do a first assessment of access to RT in Lebanon, list the most relevant barriers and propose short term solutions.

A collection of the number of patients treated per year in the radiotherapy departments all over the country was made and related to the annual cancer incidence since 2017 until 2021. a RTU (Radiation therapy utilisation rate ) was calculated and compared to the international average. A digital questionnaire was prepared and completed by the different stakeholders involved, focused on the evaluation of radiation therapy access and listing the main barriers to it, as well as voting on the best short-term plan to overcome the lack in access.

Access to radiotherapy (RT) in Lebanon since 2017 has been found to be below the 50% mark but with an improving trend until 2019, then decreasing again. The limitation of access is mostly related to new, more expensive techniques, often not covered by third-party payers. Barriers to access are multiple but the main reasons are financial (80.5%) in the first place, followed by the geographical barrier (68.3%) and the absence of national standards of good oncological practice (65.9%). The best way to avoid a health crisis would be to make external modulation of the price through subsidies to fill the gaps in coverage; this would be done through the creation of a charity dedicated to these patients (73.2%). Assistance will be selective based on criteria directly related to access barriers, the most relevant of which are: treatment goal (palliative/curative) (75%), tumor prognosis (47%), multiplicity of RT treatments (37%), socioeconomic conditions and patient age. These criteria were considered acceptable by the vast majority of participants.

Our study was the first research work dedicated to assess access to Radiation therapy in Lebanon. It showed a lack of access compared to the international average. We succeeded to pinpoint the main obstacles to access. Since the major barrier to optimal treatment is financial, the access will be severely threatened secondary to the recent economic crisis. Short term solutions through financial support is an urgent need to maintain sustainability and quality of care.