The global radiation oncology market size was exhibited at USD 9.75 billion in 2023 and is projected to hit around USD 31.66 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period 2024 to 2033.
The Radiation Oncology Market is an essential component of the global oncology therapeutics landscape, dedicated to the application of targeted radiation to destroy or control malignant cells. Radiation therapy, either as a standalone treatment or in conjunction with surgery and chemotherapy, is used in approximately 50–60% of all cancer cases globally. It provides non-invasive, organ-preserving treatment options and is critical in both curative and palliative care pathways.
With the global cancer burden continuously escalating fueled by aging populations, environmental exposures, and lifestyle changes radiation oncology is witnessing a surge in demand. This rise has been accompanied by rapid technological advancements in treatment delivery, planning systems, and imaging integration. Innovations such as proton therapy, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) have significantly improved precision, minimizing collateral tissue damage while enhancing tumor targeting accuracy.
Further, healthcare systems across the world are investing heavily in radiation infrastructure, including the installation of linear accelerators (Linacs), compact radiotherapy systems, and brachytherapy units. At the same time, government initiatives to improve cancer care access especially in underserved and rural regions have led to the proliferation of regional radiotherapy centers.
Leading companies, hospitals, and research institutions are continuously collaborating to refine and expand access to radiation therapy. In recent years, partnerships between radiotherapy manufacturers and cloud-based analytics platforms have brought forward AI-assisted planning, adaptive treatment regimens, and patient-specific radiation profiling marking a new era in personalized cancer care.
Shift Toward Personalized and Adaptive Radiation Therapy: Real-time imaging and AI tools are enabling radiation doses tailored to individual patient anatomy and tumor response.
Rise in Proton Therapy Installations: Advanced proton beam therapy centers are being developed across Asia, Europe, and North America to manage complex and pediatric tumors.
Expansion of Compact Radiotherapy Units: Compact and modular systems are being deployed in low-resource and outpatient settings.
Integration of Radiomics and Machine Learning: Advanced analytics are being used for predictive modeling of treatment outcomes and toxicities.
Increased Use of Hypofractionation: Fewer, higher-dose treatment sessions are being implemented to improve patient convenience and reduce costs.
Growth in Brachytherapy for Gynecological and Prostate Cancers: Cost-effective and localized treatment methods are regaining popularity.
Government Grants and Public-Private Initiatives: Investments are accelerating radiation access in underserved regions.
Tele-radiotherapy and Cloud-based Planning: Cloud platforms allow remote collaboration and workflow optimization, especially across large hospital networks.
| Report Coverage | Details |
| Market Size in 2024 | USD 10.97 Billion |
| Market Size by 2033 | USD 31.66 Billion |
| Growth Rate From 2024 to 2033 | CAGR of 12.5% |
| Base Year | 2023 |
| Forecast Period | 2024-2033 |
| Segments Covered | Type, Technology, Application, Region |
| Market Analysis (Terms Used) | Value (US$ Million/Billion) or (Volume/Units) |
| Regional scope | North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; Middle East & Africa |
| Key Companies Profiled | Varian Medical Systems, Inc.; Elekta AB; Accuray Incorporated; IBA Radiopharma Solutions; BD; Isoray Medical; Mevion Medical Systems, Inc.; Nordion Inc.; NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd.; Curium Pharma; Viewray Technologies, Inc. |
The most significant driver of the radiation oncology market is the rising global incidence and prevalence of cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were over 19 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2022, and this figure is projected to exceed 29 million by 2040. With such staggering numbers, the need for scalable, precise, and cost-effective cancer treatment modalities is critical.
Radiation therapy has proven efficacy in a wide range of malignancies—from common cancers like breast, lung, and prostate to more complex head and neck, brain, and pediatric tumors. It is often the treatment of choice when surgical intervention is not feasible, either due to anatomical constraints or patient comorbidities. Moreover, radiotherapy plays a central role in palliative oncology by alleviating pain and improving quality of life in terminal cancer patients. As incidence rates climb, demand for both external and internal radiation therapy continues to grow, particularly in middle-income nations where radiation access is still limited.
Despite technological promise, the high cost of setting up and maintaining radiation therapy infrastructure remains a major restraint. A single linear accelerator can cost anywhere between $2 million to $5 million, excluding additional expenses for shielding, treatment planning systems, staffing, and maintenance. Proton therapy centers require even larger capital investments, often exceeding $25 million per site.
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), these costs pose significant barriers to adoption, limiting accessibility for large segments of the population. Additionally, the need for highly trained radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and dosimetrists further compounds operational costs. While mobile and compact solutions are helping bridge this gap, the disparity in access to radiation therapy between urban and rural or developed and developing settings remains a persistent challenge.
A major untapped opportunity lies in expanding radiation oncology access across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). According to estimates from the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), over 70% of cancer patients in LMICs lack access to timely radiation therapy. With cancer incidence increasing rapidly in Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of Latin America, the opportunity for installing new radiation therapy infrastructure is substantial.
Governmental health initiatives, international aid, and collaborations with global health organizations are driving infrastructure development. For example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has supported training and equipment procurement in over 90 countries. The growing availability of compact, lower-cost Linacs and brachytherapy systems also offers a practical pathway for expanding services in regional and community settings. Additionally, remote planning and cloud-based radiotherapy software can facilitate centralized expertise in decentralized locations, offering a scalable model for LMIC adoption.
External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) dominates the global radiation oncology market, primarily due to its broad application scope, technological advancements, and integration into most standard cancer care protocols. EBRT involves the use of focused radiation beams delivered from outside the body using sophisticated systems like linear accelerators, CyberKnife, and Gamma Knife. EBRT is suitable for a wide variety of cancers, including prostate, lung, breast, and brain tumors. Among EBRT options, linear accelerators (Linacs) remain the cornerstone of treatment delivery. These machines are widely available across hospitals and radiation centers and are equipped with capabilities like 3D imaging, dose modulation, and adaptive treatment protocols.
Proton therapy, although still in early adoption phases, is the fastest-growing subsegment within EBRT. It offers superior dose distribution, particularly useful in pediatric tumors and cancers near critical organs. Proton therapy centers are expanding rapidly across the U.S., Japan, China, and select European countries, as institutions invest in next-generation cancer care. Advances in cyclotron and synchrotron technology are making proton beam delivery more compact and affordable, accelerating adoption.
In the Internal Beam Radiation Therapy segment, brachytherapy dominates, particularly in prostate, cervical, and gynecological cancers. Brachytherapy involves placing radioactive sources directly into or near the tumor, offering high-dose, localized treatment with minimal impact on surrounding tissues. The technique is cost-effective and can be delivered in outpatient settings. The subsegment of electronic brachytherapy is gaining attention due to its portability and improved safety profile, especially in breast and skin cancers.
Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) and Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) dominate the external beam technology segment due to their ability to deliver highly precise radiation while minimizing toxicity to healthy tissue. IGRT enables real-time tumor tracking and has become standard in treating head, neck, lung, and prostate cancers. IMRT allows modulation of radiation intensity across different tumor zones, offering better dose conformity and sparing of organs-at-risk. These modalities have seen wide acceptance in both academic hospitals and private oncology centers.
Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) is one of the fastest-growing technologies, due to its ability to shorten treatment times while maintaining dose precision. VMAT delivers radiation in single or multiple arcs around the patient, improving efficiency and patient throughput. Likewise, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) is witnessing accelerated adoption for lung, liver, and spinal tumors where ablative doses are delivered in just a few sessions. Proton Beam Therapy, while technologically complex, is also expanding rapidly due to its minimal exit dose and applicability in hard-to-treat tumors.
In brachytherapy, High-Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy is the dominant technology, offering faster treatment times and better outpatient integration. It is commonly used in cervical, breast, and endometrial cancers. Low-Dose Rate (LDR) remains preferred in permanent seed implants for prostate cancer, supported by long-term efficacy data.
In the external beam radiation therapy application area, prostate cancer is the most treated cancer globally, largely due to the high prevalence in aging male populations and strong clinical evidence supporting radiotherapy effectiveness. Technologies like IMRT, SBRT, and brachytherapy (as adjunct or standalone treatment) are widely utilized in localized and recurrent prostate cancer cases. The disease's relatively slow progression also makes it amenable to precision-focused radiotherapy schedules.
Breast cancer is the fastest-growing application segment in EBRT, driven by increased screening, earlier diagnosis, and expanded adoption of hypofractionated radiation regimens. Breast-conserving surgeries followed by radiotherapy have become standard practice in early-stage cases. Additionally, the application of intraoperative and partial breast irradiation is increasing, especially in outpatient settings.
In internal beam applications, gynecological and cervical cancers dominate the brachytherapy segment, particularly in developing nations where these cancers remain prevalent. Cervical cancer, being anatomically localized, is well-suited to brachytherapy, which is often combined with external radiation and chemotherapy. Breast cancer is emerging as a growing application in brachytherapy, particularly with the advent of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) and balloon-based applicators, allowing post-surgical radiation in fewer sessions.
North America currently dominates the radiation oncology market, particularly led by the United States, which has the highest number of operational radiation therapy centers worldwide. The region benefits from strong reimbursement frameworks, academic research institutions, and adoption of cutting-edge technologies such as adaptive therapy, proton therapy, and AI-assisted treatment planning. In the U.S., hypofractionation and outpatient radiation are seeing rapid growth due to cost efficiency and patient convenience. Additionally, initiatives by organizations like ASTRO (American Society for Radiation Oncology) promote standardization and clinical research in radiotherapy.
Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing regional market, owing to rising cancer incidence, improved healthcare infrastructure, and increased government investment in oncology services. Countries like China and India are rapidly scaling up their radiation therapy capacity through both public and private sector funding. Japan and South Korea are investing heavily in proton therapy and compact EBRT systems. Mobile radiation units, teletherapy solutions, and training programs are helping bridge the urban-rural divide in cancer care delivery. As cancer screening programs expand in the region, the demand for radiotherapy is expected to grow exponentially.
In February 2025, Varian Medical Systems (Siemens Healthineers) launched a cloud-integrated AI-based adaptive radiotherapy platform, Ethos™, in key U.S. and European centers.
Elekta received FDA clearance in October 2024 for its Elekta Unity MR-Linac system, which combines real-time MRI imaging with linear accelerator technology.
In December 2024, Ion Beam Applications (IBA) announced a partnership with Apollo Hospitals in India to install a next-generation proton therapy center by 2026.
ViewRay Inc., in November 2024, expanded its MRIdian® Linac installations in Southeast Asia, marking its first deployment in Malaysia.
Accuray Incorporated launched an upgraded CyberKnife platform with enhanced tracking capabilities in January 2025, targeting neurology and spine tumor applications.
This report forecasts revenue growth at country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2021 to 2033. For this study, Nova one advisor, Inc. has segmented the global radiation oncology market
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