Year: 2015
Type: editorial
Abstract: An article by Kavanagh et al 1 in a recent special issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology highlighted several emerging technologies, translational frontiers, and novel clinical paradigms in radiation oncology.In the excitement generated by the plethora of these powerfully sophisticated tools now available to radiation oncologists, brachytherapy is often mistakenly viewed as an antiquated or even irrelevant modality, despite the central role it continues to play in the management of several cancer types.Further, having undergone its own remarkable recent technological advancement, brachytherapy continues to expand its potential application to a variety of clinical circumstances.Brachytherapy is a specialized form of radiation therapy that entails the placement of an emitting radiation source (most commonly a radioactive isotope) in immediate proximity to macroscopic tumor and/or adjacent tissue at risk of harboring microscopic disease.Brachytherapy requires the positioning specialized applicators that are specifically designed for each anatomic site or clinical circumstance into body cavities and tissues.In many ways, brachytherapy can be considered the ultimate form of conformal radiation therapy because it is unparalleled in its ability to direct a large dose of radiation to the tumor while minimizing exposure to surrounding sensitive normal structures.Brachytherapy has a long and storied history in the treatment of cancer.The first successful applications of radioisotopes to treat cancer were reported shortly after the discovery of radium in 1898.Over the next century and more, the evolution of brachytherapy into a valued component of the radiotherapy of many malignancies became firmly established.Notwithstanding this remarkable legacy of success, there is a disturbing trend in the United States whereby the use of brachytherapy is in rapid decline.[2][3][4][5] To briefly illustrate the profoundly negative consequences of decreasing the use of brachytherapy for cancer care expenditures, patient choice, treatment-related morbidity and, most alarmingly, cancer-specific mortality, two disease site examples are reviewed: prostate and uterine cervix.
Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology
Institutions: Rapid City Regional Hospital, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Tufts University, Tufts Medical Center, Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Radiation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2105211307