What are the best cancer hospitals? A inevitable – and distressing – question when faced with a diagnosis. Thanks to patient oncology network Italy it is possible to observe an updated map of the centers where the highest volumes are recorded for 17 different neoplasms.
The map
Wondering where to cure one’s illness is human. The answer, however, must depend on objective data and the first, experts warn, is the volume, or the number of oncological surgery operations that a facility carries out in a year.
The greater the volume, the higher the quality and effectiveness of the treatments. From today, concrete help to patients is just a click away: it is an updated map of the centers where the highest volumes are registered for 17 different malignancies. It was the one who developed it Italian patient oncology network (Ropi), starting from a fact: in Italy more than one intervention out of 4 (equal to 26%) still takes place in ‘sub-threshold’ structures, in which the number of operations carried out is below the expected standard.
Data highlighted
The map “Where do I take care of myself?”, presented to the Ministry of Health and elaborated starting from the data of the PAgenas National Results Program 2022is online on the site of Ropi and highlights how, however, in 5 years – from 2017 to 2021 – the structures ‘above thresholds’ increased from 143,469 to 148,491, marking an increase of 3.5%. Furthermore, in the same period of time, there was in any case a reduction of 11% of the places of care where a volume of operations below the threshold is performed.
The North is firmly in the lead and exceeds the threshold volumes for operations on all, or almost all, of the 17 neoplasms. In the South, on the other hand, only 3 Regions come close to covering all the main pathologies in the national top ten: Sicily, Campania and Puglia. For this reason, healthcare migration towards the North is still strong, with over 24,000 patients forced to move every year.
the message
Today, with the Ropi map, said the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, “a strong signal of transparency and information is sent towards citizens” but it is necessary “to strengthen the assistance network and overcome that gap between a Centre-North and a southern part of the country, of which the data on healthcare mobility still tell us, in particular in terms of oncological assistance”.
The indication is therefore to turn to the centers with the largest volumes and aim for a system, Schillaci points out, “in which surgical interventions are concentrated in the most highly specialized structures, with the greatest number of cases and the best outcomes”.
The choice of the place of care, in fact confirms the president Ropi Stephanie Gori, «can make a difference in the treatment of tumors. The data confirm a strong association between higher volumes of surgical activity and better treatment outcomes.
The best hospitals for cancer treatment
Four Regions lead the Italian top ten of centers that record the highest volume of oncological surgery operations: Lombardy, Lazio, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. Only 3, however, the Southern Regions to enter the top 10 places and they are Sicily, Puglia and Campania. This is the ranking of the centers drawn up by the Italian Oncology Patient Network (Ropi) on the basis of the number of operations carried out in a year for some of the main neoplasms:
BREAST CANCER (minimum threshold 150 interventions per year)
- 1. European Institute of Oncology (Milan): 2716 interventions
- the year
- 2. Gemelli University Hospital (Rome): 1208
- 3. Humanitas Institute (Rozzano): 1031
- 4. National Cancer Institute (Milan): 887
- 5. Careggi hospital (Florence): 846
- 6. Bellaria Hospital (Bologna): 796
- 7. S.Anna Hospital (Turin): 768
- 8. Humanitas Clinical Institute of Catania (Misterbianco): 739
- 9. Veneto Oncological Institute (Padua): 722
- 10. Pisa University Hospital (Pisa): 715
LUNG CANCER (minimum threshold 50 interventions per year)
- 1. SS Andrea hospital (Rome): 504 operations
- the year
- 2. European Institute of Oncology (Milan): 489
- 3. Gemelli University Hospital (Rome): 373
- 4. Careggi hospital (Florence): 369
- 5. Padua University Hospital Company (Padova): 361
- 6. Humanitas Institute (Rozzano): 349
- 7. National Cancer Institute (Milan): 332
- 8. Irccs Policlinico S. Orsola (Bologna): 316
- 9. Pisa University Hospital (Pisa): 316
- 10. Monaldi Hospital (Naples): 281
STOMACH CANCER (minimum threshold 20 interventions per year)
- 1. Gemelli University Hospital (Rome): 117 procedures
- the year
- 2. Irccs San Raffaele (Milan): 91
- 3. San Giovanni Battista Molinette Hospital (Turin): 85
- 4. Verona Borgo Trento University Hospital
- (Verona): 83
- 5. Pisa University Hospital (Pisa): 75
- 6. Irccs Policlinico S. Orsola (Bologna): 68
- 7. European Institute of Oncology (Milan): 56
- 8. Careggi University Hospital (Florence): 56
- 9. Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital (Forlì): 50
- 10. Hospital of Mercy (Grosseto): 50
COLON CANCER (minimum threshold 50 interventions per year)
1. Gemelli University Hospital (Rome): 446
2. Irccs Policlinico S. Orsola (Bologna): 318
3. Pisa University Hospital (Pisa): 301
4. Bari Polyclinic Consortium (Bari): 241
5. Hospital Company – Padua University (Padua): 222
6. Careggi hospital (Florence): 198
7. National Cancer Institute (Milan): 190
8. San Martino Polyclinic Hospital (Genoa): 183
9. EE G. Panico regional hospital (Tricase-Lecce): 179
10. San Giovanni Battista Molinette Hospital (Turin): 177
PROSTATE CANCER (minimum threshold 50 interventions per year)
1. Careggi hospital (Florence): 621 operations per year
2. European Institutes of Oncology (Milan): 505
3. Pederzoli nursing home (Peschiera Del Garda): 367
4. Irccs San Raffaele (Milan): 354
5. Irccs Policlinico S. Orsola (Bologna): 321
6. EE Miulli Regional Hospital (Acquaviva Delle Fonti – Bari):
305
7. S. Luigi University Hospital (Orbassano –
Torino): 271
8. Humanitas Institute (Rozzano): 255
9. Ifo-Regina Elena Institute (Rome): 249
10. Don Calabria Sacred Heart Hospital (Negrar – VR): 248
Survival
And the data disclosed by Ropi, in terms of survival, prove it: for ovarian cancer, for example, the 3-year survival is 65% if the intervention is carried out in specialized structures, but drops to 44% in those with a volume of interventions below the minimum threshold. For breast cancer, however, the 5-year survival is83,9% in centers with high volumes of interventions (i.e. above the minimum threshold set at 150 interventions per year), but drops to 78,8% in structures that carry out 99-50 interventions a year and still drops to 74,9% in those with fewer than 50 interventions per year.
🔵#AGENAS attended the @MinisteroSalute
📌 Conference organized by #ROPI Net #oncology #patients Italy for the new edition “Where do I take care of myself?”, which has as its reference base the data of the National Outcomes Program of the Agency. #PNE #tumors
🔎 pic.twitter.com/lniZwhJBpx— Agenas (@Agenas_Salute) February 24, 2023
«Having a map of centers with the highest volumes of activity is therefore essential», comment the patient associations with satisfaction, who consider this project a point of reference. “In the case of breast cancer, for example,” he says Giorgia Capacipresident of theBeyond the Pink Ribbon Association, «knowing the centers where breast reconstructions have shorter waiting lists, where plastic surgery is par excellence, can really be decisive in the outcome of the path for a woman». Choosing where to be treated on the basis of objective data is the first step in the right direction. Because “being able to count on a place where you are sure of being operated on by expert hands – he concludes Claudia Santangelopresident of theAssociation ‘Living without a stomach… you can!‘ – often makes the difference between living and dying.