Information for healthcare professionals
print Bookmark and Share

Uses


Applications of brachytherapy in cancer care

Brachytherapy has demonstrated excellent patient outcomes for suitable tumors in many different body sites.1-6

  • Brachytherapy can be used in combination with other therapies such as surgery, EBRT or chemotherapy, particularly when the tumor is too large or is not easily accessible.
  • Brachytherapy has been most widely applied in the treatment of cervical,7 prostate,8 breast9 and skin10 cancers, demonstrating excellent patient outcomes across all tumor types.
  • Brachytherapy can also be used to treat tumors in several other body sites - explore in the image below.




Standard of care

First practiced over 100 years ago, today’s brachytherapy utilizes a combination of state-of-the-art imaging, computer-based planning and treatment delivery technologies to deliver optimal radiotherapy.

  • Brachytherapy is incorporated into practice guidelines throughout the world and is a standard of care for cervical cancer.
  • Brachytherapy is also widely used as a treatment option for prostate cancer and has the potential to become a standard of care for other tumors, such as breast cancer.11


Learn more:


References
  1. Viswanathan AN, et al. In Devlin PM (Ed), Brachytherapy: applications and techniques. Philadelphia, PA, LWW. 2007.
  2. Pickles T, Keyes M, Morris WJ. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2010;76(1):43–9.
  3. Haie-Meder C, Chargari C, Rey A, et al. Radiother Oncol 2009;93(2):316–21.
  4. Galalae R, Martinez A, Mate T, et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2004;58(4):1048–55.
  5. Hoskin PJ, Motohashi K, Bownes P, et al. Radiother Oncol 2007;84(2):114–20.
  6. Pieters BR, de Back DZ, Koning CCE, Zwinderman AH. Radiother Oncol 2009;93(2):168–73.
  7. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Haie-Meder, C. 14;301–363 In: The GEC ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Mazeron J-J, Meertens H and van Limbergen E (Eds). Leuven, Belgium, ACCO. 2005.
  8. Ash D. 20;473–480 In: The GEC ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Mazeron J-J, Meertens H and van Limbergen E (Eds). Leuven, Belgium, ACCO. 2005.
  9. Van Limbergen E & Mazeron, J-J. 18;435–454 In: The GEC ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Mazeron J-J, Meertens H and van Limbergen E (Eds). Leuven, Belgium, ACCO. 2005.
  10. Van Limbergen E & Mazeron, J-J. 28;573–584 In: The GEC ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Mazeron J-J, Meertens H and van Limbergen E (Eds). Leuven, Belgium, ACCO. 2005.
  11. Musmacher J, Ghaly M, Satchwill K. J Clin Oncol 2006;24(18):15543.
Page last updated on 14 January 2011.

Latest news

Next event

Cancer types



    This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
    verify here.

    Please help to improve the information we provide on this site by sharing your feedback.

    Your opinion counts

    Was the information on this page helpful?

    Many thanks for your feedback.

    We hope to provide you with further useful information in the future.

    We are sorry that the information provided has not been helpful.