Brachytherapy Types

Low dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy

LDR (0.4-2 Gy/h) brachytherapy is administered at a continuous rate in sessions that can last up to 50 hours.

PDR brachytherapy

Treatment can also be delivered in periodic pulses, referred to as pulsed dose-rate or PDR. Here, the radiation is usually delivered once every hour rather than continuously.

Location of the implant

Some of the places in the body where a brachytherapy implant may be inserted include:

• Intracavitary brachytherapy - The radioactive source is inserted into a body cavity such as the vagina or uterus
• Interstitial brachytherapy - The source is inserted into bodily tissues
• Intraluminal brachytherapy - The source is placed within an intraluminal space such as the esophagus or trachea
• Surface (mould) brachytherapy - Radioactive moulds are attached to the surface of the skin
• Intravascular brachytherapy - The source is placed within blood vessels

Brachytherapy according to source loading

Brachytherapy is delivered to the target site using one of two methods:

• Hot loading - The radioactive material is placed manually and directly into the target tissue.
• Afterloading - A delivery device is placed into position using imaging studies and then loaded with radioactive material either by hand (manual afterloading) or by an automated machine (automatic remote afterloading).