Esophageal Cancer Treatment – HDR Brachytherapy
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High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy for Esophageal Cancer
Also called interstitial irradiation, High-Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy is an innovative form of internal radiotherapy used for esophageal cancer treatment. As part of integrative and aggressive approach to radiation therapy, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) frequently uses HDR brachytherapy for cancers of the esophagus.
HDR brachytherapy is a quick and effective way to integrate radiation into your esophageal cancer treatment. In this is an innovative form of internal radiotherapy, physicians are able to insert radiation “seeds” directly inside your tumor. This allows the radiation to tightly focus within the site of the esophageal cancer. HDR brachytherapy ensures the maximum radiation dose is targeted exactly where you need it most, while allowing little radiation to reach the healthy surrounding esophageal tissue. In many cases, it is an effective alternative to surgical removal of an esophageal cancer tumor.
Potential benefits of HDR brachytherapy include the following:
- The entire treatment takes one and a half days instead of five to seven weeks.
- Radiation doses are concentrated only to the affected areas of your body, helping to reduce the likelihood of surrounding, healthy tissues of being affected.
- Side effects may be reduced; HDR brachytherapy does not cause burning and skin irritations that are sometimes associated with other esophageal cancer treatments that use external, instead of internal, radiotherapy.
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