OBJECTIVE: The offering of high-technology radiotherapy to the population assisted by the Brazilian unified health system (SUS) is limited since it is not included in the system's list of procedures and, many times, because of the insufficient installed capacity and lack of specialized human resources. Thus the access to intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is restricted to few centers in Brazil. The present study is aimed at presenting the characteristics of the first 508 cases treated with IMRT during the first years after the technique implementation in a university hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The first consecutive 508 cases of IMRT treatment completed in the period from May/2011 to September/ 2013 were reviewed. Static multileaf was the technique employed. RESULTS: Amongst 4,233 treated patients, 12.5% were submitted to IMRT. Main indications for the treatment included cancers located in the skull, head and neck and prostate. Intensity modulated radiotherapy was utilized in about 30% of cranial and 50% of prostate treatments. Treatment toxicity was observed in 4% of the patients. CONCLUSION: Because of restricted access to radiotherapy in addition to lack of coverage for the procedure, IMRT indications for SUS patients should be based on institutional clinical protocols, with special attention to the reduction of toxicity.

Keywords: Radiotherapy; Unified Health System; SUS; IMRT.