Collaborative strategies for meeting the global need for cancer radiation therapy treatment systems

The idea of designing affordable equipment and developing sustainable infrastructures for delivering radiation treatment for patients with cancer in countries that lack resources and expertise stimulated a first International Cancer Expert Corps (ICEC) championed, CERN-hosted workshop in Geneva in November 2016. Which has since been followed by three additional workshops involving the sponsorship and support from UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). One of the major challenges in meeting this need to deliver radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is to design a linear accelerator and associated instrumentation system which can be operated in locations where general infrastructures and qualified human resources are poor or lacking, power outages and water supply fluctuations can occur frequently and where climatic conditions might be harsh and challenging. In parallel it is essential to address education, training and mentoring requirements for current, as well as future novel radiation therapy treatment (RTT) systems.