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. 2022 Mar;24(3):578-585.
doi: 10.1007/s12094-021-02718-2. Epub 2021 Oct 26.

High-dose-rate plesiotherapy with customized molds in non-melanoma skin cancer: efficacy and safety at 10 years-single institution experience

I Membrive Conejo  1   2   3 , O Pera Cegarra  4   5 , P Foro Arnalot  4   5   6 , A Reig Castillejo  4   5 , N Rodríguez de Dios  4   5   6 , X Sanz Latiesas  4   5   6 , G Deza  5   7 , J Quera Jordana  4   5   6 , E Fernandez-Velilla Cepria  4   5 , A Martínez Moñino  4   5 , F Liu Cheng  4   5 , M Algara López  4   5   8
Affiliations

High-dose-rate plesiotherapy with customized molds in non-melanoma skin cancer: efficacy and safety at 10 years-single institution experience

I Membrive Conejo et al. Clin Transl Oncol. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: Our center adopted high-dose-rate brachytherapy with surface applicators (plesiotherapy) in 2008, creating custom molds to treat irregular areas. This study describes the efficacy and safety outcomes after extensive follow-up in the patients.

Methods/patients: We planned the treatment using two computed tomography (CT) scans: the first to delineate the lesion and the second after placing the thermoplastic mold. Fusing the two CT images enables planning of the target volume and pinpointing, where the catheters are in the mold.

Results: Seventy patients received plesiotherapy, either exclusively or following excision in patients with risk factors for recurrence. Those receiving plesiotherapy alone showed a complete response rate of 95.8%, and recurrences occurred in 5.7% at a mean follow-up of 96.2 months. Chronic toxicity appeared in 26.6% of patients, but severity was limited to grade 1 or 2.

Conclusions: High-dose-rate brachytherapy with customized molds yields a high rate of complete response, with long-term recurrence rates in line with similar studies and an acceptable toxicity rate.

Keywords: Brachytherapy; Custom molds; Plesiotherapy; Skin cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Thermoplastic material for the creation of customized molds
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Customized mold, ready for initiation of treatment
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Customized mold, placed in the patient
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
1—Computed tomography (CT) image with radiopaque marker in place. 2—CT image with customized mold in place. 3—Fusion of images for treatment planning
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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