Cancer patients in the countries of SEE (the Balkans) region and prospective of the Particle Therapy Center - SEEIIST

Purpose A recent initiative was launched for establishing the South-East European International Institute for Sustainable Technologies (SEEIIST) which will provide a cutting-edge hadron radiotherapy treatment and research institute for treating cancer patients with Hadron Therapy (HT). To justify the initiative for building the SEEIIST facility, a study was conducted to estimate the number of cancer patients from the SEE region that would be eligible for HT. Methods and materials Two different methods for projecting the future annual cancer incidence have been applied: (a) using the Globocan model of the IARC@WHO which employs country's demographic factors, and (b) averaging the crude incidence data of three SEE countries with available national cancer registries, using a linear regression model of combined incidence per 100,000, and applying it to the entire SEE region. Cancer epidemiology data were collected and studied by using the countries’ cancer datasheets from the World Health Organization (WHO.) The top 10 cancers were presented for the SEE region. Studies of other countries were used to develop a primordial model for estimating the number of SEE patients that could be treated most successfully with HT upon SEEIIST commissioning in 2030. Results A model was developed to estimate the number of eligible patients for HT from SEE. It is estimated that 2900-3200 patients per year would be eligible for HT in the new SEEIIST facility in 2030. Conclusion After commissioning, SEEIIST will initially treat approximately 400 patients/year, progressing towards 1000. Creation of SEEIIST dedicated patient selection criteria will be both necessary and highly challenging.