Impact of developments in cancer treatment on the design of contemporary cancer centres in Europe

As a relatively young field of medicine, oncology is an important element in society, as cancer is one of the major diseases of civilisation in recent decades. As recently as the 20th century, the types of oncology centres were mainly limited to uni- versity clinics and bed wards, and the most common method of cancer treatment was invasive surgery. The development of cancer treatment methods that occurred at the turn of the 20th century influenced the architectural and functional design of cancer centres. Innovative treatment methods required new spaces, and thus cancer centres evolved into new types. An analysis was carried out in terms of what types cancer centres in Europe currently take. For further research, 12 facilities considered as reference were selected to represent different types of cancer facilities established in the 21sh century. The aim of the research was to classify contemporary types of cancer centres in the context of the development of treatment meth- ods and to characterise them generally in an architectural context. As a result of the research, five main forms in which can- cer centres occur were identified. The general characteristics of these facilities and the differences between them depending on the profile of services provided were presented. The zones present in the centres in question that define their functional layout and shape were also specified.