ABSTRACT
Radiotherapy plays a prominent role in cancer treatment. Researches indicate that radiotherapy has been used for curing most of registered malignant cancers. It has been the best choice and sedation for treatment and control of local cancers with the least side effects. Therefore, safe and effective provision of radiotherapy services is crucial and complex. This study aims to show radiotherapy role in controlling cancer in middle and low income countries. This is a descriptive and comparative study with a cross-sectional time frame. The data are searched and abstracted from related databases of East European, Latin America, Asian and African countries. They have been compared for achieving required results. Some of low and middle income countries have only a limited access to radiotherapy services, along with no access for 22 countries from Africa and Asia. Studies conducted in 72 low and middle income countries showed that there are no radiotherapy services within 24 countries among them with more than one million populations. Africa has the least average of radiotherapy facilities megavoltage per million populations compared to East Europe with the most one. The results also demonstrate that the countries with more population and low income are able to buy and provide radiotherapy, whereas those with less population are hardly amenable to invest in this service. Radiotherapy is a necessary part for an interdisciplinary treatment of cancer, which can be delivered safely and cost-effectively in low and middle income countries. Around half of cancer patients are subject to at least one course of radiotherapy during their treatment. This procedure will be the most useful cure if it is accompanied by other operations such as surgery and chemotherapy