High-dose-rate brachytherapy
A tiny, intensely radioactive source is stepped through applicators placed in or beside the tumour for a few minutes at a time, then withdrawn, so the dose is delivered from inside without leaving anything behind.
Overview
High-dose-rate brachytherapy uses a single iridium-192 (or cobalt-60) source on a cable, driven by a remote afterloader through catheters or applicators, dwelling at computed positions to sculpt the dose. It is the backbone of curative treatment for cervical cancer, where no external technique has matched it, and is used as a boost or single treatment in prostate cancer, in skin, oesophageal, bronchial and gynaecological cancers, and as the source in some breast partial-breast treatments. Sessions last minutes and are typically given in two to six fractions.
How it works
Steep dose fall-off from a source inside the target delivers very high doses to the tumour with rapid sparing of surrounding tissue; dwell times shape the distribution.
- Highest achievable tumour doses
- Very short overall treatment
- Central to cervical cancer cure
- Requires applicator placement, often under anaesthesia
- Operator dependent
- Global shortage of brachytherapy capacity
Latest papers
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