Brachytherapy, also known as sealed source radiation therapy or endocurietherapy, is a form of radiation therapy where a radioactive source is placed, under the guidance of imaging, within or next to the area requiring treatment. This provides localised targeted internal radiation.
Brachytherapy has been used to treat:
breast cancer (often post-lumpectomy 1)
head and neck cancers
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endoluminal tumours
cutaneous and ocular cancers
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benign conditions
pterygium
keloid scarring
On this page:
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%)
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migration of seeds out of the treatment region
therefore important to filter urine to recover the radioactive seeds
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