Key Issues

Research in radiation oncology provides direct clinical benefit to patients (measurable outcomes, used in diagnosis and treatment).

• Radiation oncology research in Australia lacks capacity and resources,
  • This limits capability for developing and implementing advances in patient care, and for workforce training and development;
  • There is disparity of research funding for radiation oncology compared to its clinical benefit to patients;
  • The impact of this may be greater in regional and rural facilities
• Research in radiation oncology is different to pharmacological based research in that:
  • randomised clinical trials are more difficult;
  • lack of clinical data collection to evaluate technologies;
  • novel methodologies are required to evaluate new technologies;
• There is further potential for collaboration between the various research groups, institutions, professions and individuals involved in cancer research.