brachytherapy

Brachytherapy, also known as sealed source radiotherapy or endocurietherapy, is a form of radiotherapy where a radioactive source is placed, under the guidance of imaging, within or next to the area requiring treatment.  This provides localized targeted internal radiation.

Brachytherapy has been used to treat:

• prostate cancer
• breast cancer (often post-lumpectomy )
• cervical cancer
• head and neck cancers
• endoluminal tumors
  • esophageal cancer
  • endobronchial tumors
• cutaneous and ocular cancers
• benign conditions
  • pterygium
  • keloid scarring

Radiographic features

On plain radiography and CT, brachytherapy seeds appear as multiple small linear metallic density radiopacities within the prostate.

Treatment and prognosis

Complications

Side effects associated with brachytherapy treatment of prostate cancer include:

• urinary symptoms, often short-lived
• infertility or impotence (6-50%)
• migration of seeds out of the treatment region
  • therefore important to filter urine to recover the radioactive seeds
  • brachytherapy seed migration to the lung

Differential diagnosis

• urethral lift procedure

Siehe auch:

• Mammakarzinom
• Zervixkarzinom
• Adenokarzinom der Prostata
• Brachytherapie Prostata
• Nebenniere Seeds Bestrahlung