Brachytherapy to treat different
types of cancer: an overview of the evidence
Brachytherapy can be used in the
treatment of certain cancers. It involves placing a radiation
source close to (intracavitary or intraluminal therapy) or into the
tumour or treatment site (interstitial therapy). It can be used
alone, or in combination with other therapies. High dose rate
brachytherapy uses radionuclides such as iridium-192 at dose rates
of 20 cGy per minute or more. Low dose rate brachytherapy can be
practised using a variety of sources (eg radium-226, cesium-137 and
iodine-125) and is delivered at dose rates of 4–200 cGy per
hour.
This report summarises systematic
reviews (published since 2005) and evidence based guidelines on the
use of brachytherapy to treat different types of cancer.
Supplementary searches for primary studies were conducted in order
to update the included systematic reviews. Economic evidence (post
2005) has also been summarised. The evidence is presented for each
type of cancer separately.
Published Date: 20 December 2011
