Brachytherapy in the Management of Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Brachytherapy is performed by directly inserting radioactive sources into the prostate gland and is an important treatment option for appropriately selected men with prostate adenocarcinoma. Brachytherapy provides highly conformal radiotherapy and delivers tumoricidal doses that exceed those administered with external beam radiation therapy. There is a significant body of literature supporting the excellent long-term oncologic and safety outcomes achieved when brachytherapy is used for men in all risk categories of nonmetastatic prostate cancer. This article highlights some important considerations and published outcomes that relate to brachytherapy and its role in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Keywords: Dose escalation; High dose rate brachytherapy; Image guidance; Low dose rate brachytherapy; Prostate cancer; Radiation therapy.