14 Facts About Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment.

Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prostate, breast, esophageal and skin cancer and can be used to treat tumours in many other body sites.

Brachytherapy can be used alone or in combination with other therapies such as surgery, EBRT and chemotherapy.

Brachytherapy instead involves the precise placement of short-range radiation-sources directly at the site of the cancerous tumour.

Brachytherapy is commonly used to treat cancers of the cervix, prostate, breast, and skin.

Brachytherapy can be used in the treatment of tumours of the brain, eye, head and neck region, respiratory tract, digestive tract, urinary tract, female reproductive tract, and soft tissues.

Brachytherapy can be used with the aim of curing the cancer in cases of small or locally advanced tumours, provided the cancer has not metastasized .

Brachytherapy is commonly used in the treatment of early or locally confined cervical cancer and is a standard of care in many countries.

Brachytherapy to treat prostate cancer can be given either as permanent LDR seed implantation or as temporary HDR brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy can be used after surgery, before chemotherapy or palliatively in the case of advanced disease.

Brachytherapy to treat breast cancer is usually performed with HDR temporary brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy followed EBRT or surgery have been shown to improve the survival rate and local recurrent rate than EBRT or surgery only for esophageal cancer patients.

Brachytherapy can be used in the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis, in which a catheter is placed inside blood vessels, through which sources are inserted and removed.

Brachytherapy was the OR procedure with the greatest change in occurrence among hospital stays paid by Medicare and private insurance.