Trends in radiation oncology between 2015 and 2022: report from a German university radio-oncology department

PURPOSE: How have the demographics of radiotherapy patients changed between 2015 and 2022? What was the impact of the pandemic, of modified multidisciplinary therapy concepts, and of structural changes on our patient cohort? METHODS: We analyzed the data of all patients who underwent computed tomography-guided radiotherapy or ultrasound-planned high dose rate prostate brachytherapy at our department between 2015 and 2022. We examined tumor diagnoses in terms of frequency, age of the patients and the distance between patients' place of residence and our department. RESULTS: A total of 8842 patients underwent radiotherapy at our clinic between 2015 and 2022. The median age at treatment increased from 62 years in 2015 to 64 years in 2022. Within the entire cohort, 18% underwent metastasis-directed radiotherapy, 13% had radiotherapy for head and neck tumors, and 12% for breast or prostate cancer. Skin cancer treatments increased in frequency by 79% during study period, while prostate treatments rose by 10%. Overall, 47% of all patients lived within a 10-km radius of our clinic. Patients who received brachytherapy for cervical or endometrial cancer travelled significantly further. During the national epidemic emergency (03/2020 to 11/2021), there was no significant change in the long-term average number of patients or the proportion of cancer types. CONCLUSION: There has been a significant increase in radiotherapy treatments for skin cancer, alongside an aging patient population. Although we primarily act as a local radiotherapy partner, the increased travel distances for brachytherapy patients underscore the particular responsibility of a university radiotherapy department as a primary center and key provider of comprehensive cancer care.