Purpose: In the Philippines, a lower middle-income country in Southeast Asia, 6 of 10 Filipinos die without seeing a doctor. To ensure universal access to cancer care, providers must be equitably distributed. Therefore, we evaluated the distribution of oncologists across all 17 regions in the Philippines.
Methods: We gathered data from the official websites of national medical societies on their members' regional area of practice: Philippine Society of Medical Oncology, Philippine Radiation Oncology Society, Surgical Oncology Society of the Philippines, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines, and Philippine Society of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. We compared this with the regional census to determine the number of board-certified oncologists per 100,000 Filipinos.
Results: For a population of almost 110 million, the Philippines has a total of 348 medical oncologists, 164 surgical oncologists, 99 radiation oncologists, 142 gynecologic oncologists, and 35 hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) specialists. This translates to 0.32 medical oncologists, 0.15 surgical oncologists, 0.09 radiation oncologists, 0.13 gynecologic oncologists, and 0.03 HPM specialists for every 100,000 Filipinos. The number of oncologists is highest in the National Capital Region in Luzon and lowest in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. All regions have at least one medical and gynecologic oncologist. Two regions (12%) have no surgical oncologists, five regions (29%) have no radiation oncologists, and eight regions (47%) have no HPM specialists.
Conclusion: Efforts are needed to increase the number of oncologists and improve equity in their distribution to ensure universal access to cancer care in the Philippines.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9668555 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/GO.22.00138 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Simultaneous Anti-Tuberculosis and Anti-Tumor Treatment with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Co-Existent Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Advanced Lung Cancer.
Infect Drug Resist
January 2025
Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as the first-line treatment for driver-negative advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there is uncertainty regarding the availability and timing of ICI initiation in patients with NSCLC combined with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Additionally, the implementation of dual therapy for anti-TB and anti-tumor treatment poses significant challenges in terms of avoiding drug-drug interactions and reducing adverse reactions during clinical diagnosis and treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDefining Spine Cancer Pain Syndromes: A Systematic Review and Proposed Terminology.
Global Spine J
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Study Design: Systematic Review.
Objectives: Formalized terminology for pain experienced by spine cancer patients is lacking. The common descriptors of spine cancer pain as mechanical or non-mechanical is not exhaustive.
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary-Who Can Be Offered Surgery as the Sole Treatment Modality? A Systematic Review.
Clin Otolaryngol
January 2025
Consultant ENT/Head and Neck Surgeon, Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. Professor of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
Objective: Evaluate the role of surgery as the sole treatment modality for patients with cervical head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary (HNSCCUP).
Design: Systematic review of observational cohort studies with qualitative synthesis.
Setting: PubMed, Ovid EMBASE, and Cochrane Controlled register of Trials (CENTRAL) were screened from January 2000 up to October 2021.
Long-term Prospective Comparative Analysis of Ototoxic and Survival Outcomes of Sequential Boost and Simultaneous Integrated Boost of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy for Head-Neck Carcinomas.
Turk Arch Otorhinolaryngol
January 2025
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Objective: To compare the ototoxicity and survival in head and neck carcinoma patients treated with sequential (SEQ) and simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT).
Methods: This long-term prospective study enrolled patients with histologically confirmed head and neck carcinoma, all receiving VMAT treatment. Audiological assessments were done using various tests at baseline, two weeks, treatment completion, six months, and 12 months.
Perfusion-MRI for differentiating cerebral metastatic lesions and gliomas: An evidence-based review.
J Clin Neurosci
January 2025
Faculty of Health Sciences, Fenerbahçe University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Background: Lesions affecting the brain are variable and have multiple pathologies. Brain metastasis is a common entity of lesions that can be misleading in diagnosis. Brain metastasis affects the patient's life and survival in about 40% of cases; all patients with metastatic brain lesions are indicated for surgery, so proper diagnosis is crucial for each patient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!