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Overview


Cervical cancer

Screening and vaccination programmes, together with modern treatment techniques, have significantly improved the outlook for patients who are at risk of, or who develop, cervical cancer.


Current treatment goals for cervical cancer are to:

  • Achieve cancer cure (elimination of cervical cancer tissue).
  • Minimize the need for extensive surgery.
  • Avoid damage to surrounding tissues and organs.


Brachytherapy – a global standard of care for cervical cancer

Brachytherapy for the treatment of gynecological cancers has a long and distinguished history.

Low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy has been used for nearly a century, while high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy has been employed for over 30 years.1 Pulsed dose rate (PDR) brachytherapy can also be used to treat cervical cancer.

Brachytherapy can be used as monotherapy or in combination with external beam radiotherapy.2

Find out about the different dose rates of brachytherapy.

HDR brachytherapy is most commonly used as it offers:

  • High precision of the radiation dose.3
  • Shorter treatment times than LDR brachytherapy.4
  • Reduced need for hospitalization.4

Brachytherapy is a standard of care for cervical and other gynecological cancers. American and European guidelines recommend brachytherapy as a key component of radiotherapy for cervical cancer.2,5,6

 “Brachytherapy plays an essential role in the treatment of all invasive cancer of the cervix” 
Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie and the
European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO)2


Indications

HDR brachytherapy is indicated for the treatment of early or localised cervical cancer.

HDR brachytherapy can be used either as an alternative to EBRT or in combination with EBRT and/or chemotherapy.

Find out about the key benefits of brachytherapy for treating cervical cancer.



References
  1. Viani GA, Manta GB, Stefano EJ, de Fendi LI. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2009;28:47.
  2. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Haie-Meder C. 14. Cervix Carcinoma. In: The GEC ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy. Gerbaulet A, Pötter R, Mazeron J-J, Meertens H and Van Limbergen E (Eds). Leuven, Belgium, ACCO. 2002.
  3. Haie-Meder C, Pötter R, Van Limbergen E, et al. Radiother Oncol 2005;74(3):235–45.
  4. Stewart AJ & Viswanathan AN. Cancer 2006;107(5):908–15.
  5. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/IPG160. Accessed 30 December 2009.
  6. Pötter R, Haie-Meder C, Van Limbergen EV, et al. Radiother Oncol 2006;78(1): 67–77.
Page last updated on 14 January 2011.

Brachytherapy

and cervical cancer

 

Cancer types



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