The evidence for the benefits of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in reducing toxicity [1-6] and allowing safe dose escalation with an expectation of improved cure rates [1,7] is rapidly growing. Two previous surveys [8,9] of the availability of inverse planned IMRT in the UK showed slow uptake of this advanced form of radiotherapy, resulting in unequal access, with only 2% of patients being treated in 2008. In England, the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group set out to increase this number, as described by Cooper and Williams in a separate editorial [10]. A target of achieving 33% of radical radiotherapy patients being treated with IMRT was set.
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