Brachytherapy

Statistics

Mayo Clinic doctors monitor people who receive brachytherapy to constantly improve care.

Endometrial cancer

In a Mayo Clinic study, researchers reported that women at risk of recurrence of endometrial cancer could be treated safely and effectively with three high dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatments during a one- to two-week period. They found the treatment to be more convenient than a six-week course of daily external radiation and associated with fewer side effects in women whose main risk for cancer relapse is the upper vagina.

Bile duct cancer

Mayo Clinic doctors found that chemotherapy, external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy given before transplant resulted in a higher cure rate following liver transplantation for bile duct cancer than is expected for liver transplantation alone.

Ocular melanoma

A Mayo Clinic study showed that a temporary low dose rate (LDR) implant is an effective alternative to removal of the eye for patients with melanoma.