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Brachytherapy

Dr Roberto Schubert and Gregory et al.

Brachytherapy, also known as sealed source radiotherapy or endocurietherapy, is a form of radiotherapy where a radioactive source is placed within or next to the area requiring treatment. Brachytherapy is commonly used to treat localized prostate cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer and cancers of the head and neck.

There are many side effects associated with brachytherapy treatment of the prostate using seeds, most of these are urinary in nature and are short lived. However, 6-50 % of patients (depending upon the seriousness of the cancer) may become infertile or impotent following brachytherapy. Other side effects may occur as a consequence of migration of seeds out of the treatment region; it is therefore important to filter urine to recover the radioactive seeds.

Breast brachytherapy, or partial breast irradiation (PBI), has also been researched as a treatment method after lumpectomy ¹.