Evaluation of Italian radiotherapy research from 1985 to 2005: preliminary analysis

Aim: The difficulty in conducting meaningful clinical research is a multifactorial issue, involving political, financial and cultural problems, which can lead to unexpected negative long-term consequences, in terms of knowledge advancement and impact on patient care. The aims of the present review were to evaluate the publications of Italian radiotherapy (RT) groups during a 20-year period and to verify whether research is still appealing to young radiation oncologists (ROs) in Italy. Methods: PubMed database was searched for English-language articles published by Italian groups from January 1985 to December 2005. Analyzed variables were: publication/year, kind of study, geographical area and age of the first author. Results: The systematic review identified 3291 articles: 1207 papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The number of Italian published papers increased during the examined period. Retrospective analyses, prospective phase I–II trials and literature reviews were 44, 20 and 14.5% of all published manuscripts, respectively. Randomized trials showed a mild increase from 2000 to 2005, but their absolute number remained low respect to other types of studies (4%). Northern Italy produced the very most of Italian research papers (58.7%). The age of the first/second author was evaluated on 716 papers: In more than 50% of cases, the first author was younger than 40. Conclusion: Despite a general gradual improvement, RT clinical research suffers in Italy (as elsewhere) from insufficient funding, with a negative impact on evidence production. It is worth noting that clinical research is still appealing and accessible to junior Italian RO.