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Indications of Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy, a radiation treatment, has become a standard radiotherapy option for treating a range of cancerous tumors in certain clinical situations. In contrast to teletherapy, the more common external-beam radiation treatment, brachytherapy applies the radiation inside of or very near to the targeted tumor, reducing radiation risk to healthy tissues and decreasing duration of treatment. Specifically, brachytherapy provides three general treatment approaches, according to the journal "Oncology Review": the surface modality, or plesiotherapy; within a cavity, or intracavitary; or within the tumor itself, or interstitial. The type and stage of cancer determines which of the three brachytherapy applications will be used.

  1. Plesiotherapy

    • In the surface applications of brachytherapy, radiation sources, such as plaques or molds, are placed directly on the tumor or region of cancer. This treatment modality is most often used for cancers such as retinoblastimo (carcinoma of the cells of the retina), vaginal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer (cancer of the upper throat, behind the nose), conjunctival cancer (cancer of the eye) and intraocular melanoma (cancer in the middle layers of the eye).

    Intracavitary Brachytherapy

    • In the case of intracavitary and endoluminal (or tubular) brachytherapy, conveyances (vials or applicators) containing sealed radioactive isotopes, such as cesium-137 or iridium-192, are positioned in close proximity to the tumor within a specific cavity or bodily tube, such as the vagina, uterus, esophagus and bronchial tubes. Most commonly, intracavitary and endoluminal brachytherapy are used for the treatment of the cervix and uterus, reports "Oncology Review."

    Interstitial Brachytherapy

    • Needles and catheters are the primary tools employed in interstitial brachytherapy, both of which are increasingly used to treat breast cancer where the focus is on saving or conserving the breast. Interstitial radiotherapy is recognized more and more as a standard of care in prostate cancer, particularly in the early stages of the disease, reports the American Brachytherapy Society. The needle and catheter conveyances are plied with the radioactive isotope after they've been implanted at the site of the tumor. This is done with wires or seeds (tiny rods) or through the use of a cable that is moved along a catheter, stopping at predesignated locations to apply the radiation. Other cancers commonly treated with this type of therapy include tumors of the oropharynx, skin, soft tissue and tongue.

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