Radiation Clinic Closures May Widen U.S. Cancer Care Gap
A study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reveals that radiation oncology clinics are closing at a higher rate than new ones are opening, particularly in rural areas. This trend threatens to widen the cancer care gap by forcing patients to travel further for essential daily treatments.
Why it matters
The findings underscore a critical healthcare access crisis that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations and rural communities, potentially leading to delayed or abandoned cancer treatments.
New York, NY (July 10, 2026) - A new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that although the overall number of radiation oncology clinics in the United States has appeared stable in recent years, many individual treatment centers have quietly closed while others have opened. The closures have disproportionately affected rural and freestanding practices, reducing access to lifesaving radiation therapy for patients to receive lifesaving cancer treatment close to home.
Published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics ( 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2026.06.3090 ), the study is the first nationwide analysis to systematically track individual radiation oncology practice sites rather than physician groups or health care organizations. Researchers examined more than 3,000 treatment locations nationwide using national Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data collected between 2018 and 2025.
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