Brachytherapy in Head and Neck Cancer: A Forgotten Art or a Skill to be Remembered!!
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1927-7229.2017.06.01.3Keywords:
Head & Neck Cancer, Brachytherapy, RadiotherapyAbstract
Radiation therapy is a critical part of multi-modality management of head and neck cancers. Brachytherapy or internal radiation is an ideal method of treatment delivery to achieve the ultimate goal of radiation treatment, that is maximum dose to tumour and minimum dose to normal tissues. Brachytherapy enables the radiation oncologist to provide a perfect mixture of radiation physics, radiobiology and clinical acumen to counter head and neck cancers. Appropriate usage based on the clearly defined indications and simple methods can maximize the advantages of brachytherapy thus resulting in excellent outcomes. However, the steady decline in utilization of brachytherapy over the years coupled with the technological advances of highly conformal radiotherapy, have dented its broader application for head and neck cancers. Can the new age radiation oncologist afford to neglect this therapeutic skill set?
References
Takiar R, Nadayil D, Nandakumar A. Projections of Number of Cancer Cases in India (2010-2020) by Cancer Groups. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev 2010; 11: 1045-1049.
Kowalski LP, Carvalho AL. Natural history of untreated head and neck cancer. Eur J Cancer 2000; 36(8): 1032-1037. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-8049(00)00054-X
Kovács G. Modern head and neck brachytherapy: from radium towards intensity modulated interventional brachy-therapy. J Contemp Brachytherapy 2015; 6(4): 404-416.
American College of Radiology. ACR–AAPM technical standard for the performance of high dose-rate brachytherapy physics. Available at www.acr.org/~/media/ EF9F4CCED3C5426B915BC2C91974CE5. 2015.
Mazeron JJ, Scalliet P, Van Limbergen E, Lartigau E. Radiobiology of brachytherapy and the dose-rate effect. A. Gerbaulet, R. Pötter, J.J. Mazeron, H. Meertens, E. Van Limbergen, editors. In: The GEC-ESTRO handbook of brachytherapy. ESTRO, Brussels 2002; 95-121.
Mazeron JJ, Ardiet JM, Haie-Méder C, Kovács G, Levendag P, Peiffert D, et al. GEC-ESTRO recommendations for brachytherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Radiother Oncol 2009; 91(2): 150-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2009.01.005
Inoue T, Inoue T, Yoshida K, Yoshioka Y, Shimamoto S, Tanaka E, et al. Phase III trial of high- vs. low-dose-rate interstitial radiotherapy for early mobile tongue cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2001; 51: 171-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0360-3016(01)01561-9
Leung T, Wong VY, Kwan K, Ng T, Wong C, Tung SY, et al. High dose rate brachytherapy for early stage oral tongue cancer. Head Neck 2002; 24(3): 274-81. https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.10021
Guinot J, Arribas L, Chust ML, Mengual JL, García Miragall E, Carrascosa M, et al. Lip cancer treatment with high dose rate brachytherapy. Radiother Oncol 2003; 69: 113-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8140(03)00271-8
Yamazaki H, Inoue T, Yoshida K, Yoshioka Y, Furukawa S, Kakimoto N, et al. Brachytherapy for early oral tongue cancer: low dose rate to high dose rate. J Radiat Res 2003; 44: 37-40. https://doi.org/10.1269/jrr.44.37
Umeda M, Komatsubara H, Ojima Y, Minamikawa T, Shibuya Y, Yokoo S, et al. A comparison of brachytherapy and surgery for the treatment of stage I-II squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2005; 34: 739-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijom.2005.02.015
Kakimoto N, Inoue T, Inoue T, Murakami S, Furukawa S, Yoshida K, et al. High-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy for mobile tongue cancer: influence of the non-irradiated period. Anticancer Res 2006; 26: 3933-7.
Ghadjar P, Bojaxhiu B, Simcock M, Terribilini D, Isaak B, Gut P, et al. High dose rate versus low dose-rate brachytherapy for lip cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2012; 83(4): 1205-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2011.09.038
Mohanti BK, Sahai P, Thakar A, Sikka K, Bhasker S, Sharma A, et al. Institutional Experience of Interstitial Brachytherapy for Head and Neck Cancer with a Comparison of High- and Low Dose Rate Practice. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2014; 15(2): 813-818. https://doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.2.813
Kakimoto N, Inoue T, Inoue T, Murakami S, Furukawa S, Yoshida K, et al. Results of low- and high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy for T3 mobile tongue cancer. Radiother Oncol 2003; 68: 123-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8140(03)00055-0
Nose T, Koizumi M, Nishiyama K. High-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma: results of 83 lesions in 82 patients. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2004; 59: 983-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2003.12.015
Takácsi-Nagy Z, Polgár C, Oberna F, Somogyi A, Major T, Remenár É, et al. Interstitial high-dose-rate brachytherapy in the treatment of base of tongue carcinoma. Strahlenther Onkol 2004; 180(12): 768-75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00066-004-1238-x
Chen J, Pappas L, Moeller JH, Rankin J, Sharma PK, Bentz BG, et al. Treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with external beam radiation combined with interstitial brachytherapy. Head Neck 2007; 29(4): 362-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.20528
Yamazaki H, Yoshida K, Yoshioka Y, Shimizutani K, Furukawa S, Koizumi M, et al. High dose rate brachytherapy for oral cancer. J Radiat Res 2013; 54(1): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rrs103
Krüll A, Friedrich RE, Schwarz R, Thurmann H, Schmelzle R, Alberti W. Interstitial high dose rate brachytherapy in locally progressive or recurrent head and neck cancer. Anticancer Res 1999; 19(4A): 2695-7.
Glatzel M, Buntzel J, Schroder D, Küttner K, Frohlich D. High-dose-rate brachytherapy in the treatment of recurrent and residual head and neck cancer. Laryngoscope 2002;112; 8(1): 1366-71.
Narayana A, Cohen GN, Zaider M, Chan K, Lee N, Wong RJ, et al. High-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy in recurrent and previously irradiated head and neck cancers – preliminary results. Brachytherapy 2007; 6(2): 157-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2006.12.001
Schiefke F, Hildebrandt G, Pohlmann S, Heinicke F, Hemprich A, Frerich B. Combination of surgical resection and HDR-brachytherapy in patient with recurrent or advanced head and neck carcinomas. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 2008; 36(5): 285-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcms.2007.08.009
Bartochowska A, Wierzbicka M, Skowronek J, Leszczyńska M, Szyfter W. High-dose-rate and pulsed-dose-rate brachytherapy in palliative treatment of head and neck cancers. Brachytherapy 2012; 11(2): 137-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2011.09.006
Orton A, Boothe D, Gan M, Monroe MM, Hitchcock YJ, Lloyd S. The "decay" of brachytherapy use in tumors of the oral cavity: A population-based patterns of care and outcomes analysis from 1973 to 2012. Brachytherapy 2016; 15(6): 851-858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2016.05.007
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
Similar Articles
- Armel HerveNwabo Kamdje, Georges Kalgong, Paul Takam Kamga, Richard Simo Tagne, Jeremie Mbo Amvene, Charlette Nangue, Knowledge and Behavior of Women on Cervical Cancer in the Northern Region of Cameroon , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 6 No. 3 (2017)
- Loren Pickart, Jessica M. Vasquez-Soltero, Francoise D. Pickart , John Majnarich , GHK, the Human Skin Remodeling Peptide, Induces Anti-Cancer Expression of Numerous Caspase, Growth Regulatory, and DNA Repair Genes , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 3 No. 2 (2014)
- Kenji Ina, Yuu Hosoe, Kazuhiro Ito, Miho Tatematsu, Masako Sakakibara, Megumi Kabeya, Satoshi Kayukawa, Yoshihiro Ohta, A Retrospective Survey of Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis vis-à-vis Cancer Prevalence , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 9 (2020)
- B. Depboylu, N. Ozturk, B. Nigdelioglu, G. Discigil, The Relationships between Frailty and Quality of Life in Elderly Women with Breast Cancer , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 11 (2022)
- Maria Fernanda Evangelista Simões, Clarissa Maria de Cerqueira Mathias, Oddone Freitas Melro Braghiroli, Eldsamira da Silva Mascarenhas Schettini Sobrinho , Subacute Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration in an Advanced Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient: Case Report and Literature Review , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 4 No. 2 (2015)
- Daiki Taniyama, Tsuyoshi Torii, Junichiro Kuga, Yoriko Dodo, Hitomi Tanaka, Yoshimasa Sueda , Kiyomi Taniyama , A Case Report of Visual Disturbance Caused by Thrombosis of the Superior Sagittal Sinus , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 3 No. 1 (2014)
- Aradhana Mohan, S.L. Pranitha, S. Arpitha, S.N. Geeta, Sushmitha K. Thomas, Prognostic Factors Affecting the Overall Survival and Disease-Free Survival in Carcinoma Lung Patients Treated with Sequential Chemoradiation and Concurrent Chemoradiation: A Retrospective Study , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 14 (2025)
- Thais Ligiero Braga , Filipe Leal Portilho, Ralph Santos-Oliveira , Breast Cancer Treatment Protocols: Systematic Review of the Last 35 Years , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 6 No. 2 (2017)
- Priyank A. Shenoy, Why is Immunohistochemical Detection of Metastasized Breast Cancer Cells in the Immunocompetent Host Not Always Easy? , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 7 No. 4 (2018)
- Cardile Venera , Avola Rosanna, C.E. Graziano Adriana, Madrid Alejandro, Russo Alessandra, Boldine Activates Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway in DU-145 Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer Cell Line , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 8 (2019)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- A.S. Kirthi Koushik, Ram Alva, M.G. Janaki, Arul Ponni, Angular Variation of Applicators in LDR-ICBT , Journal of Analytical Oncology: Vol. 6 No. 1 (2017)