Endoluminal brachytherapy: Technicalities and main clinical evidences

Abstract

Intraluminal brachytherapy (BT) can be used in upper gastrointestinal cancers such as bile duct or esophageal tumor in curative or palliative setting. The application technique depends on the anatomical site to be treated. The endoluminal brachytherapy technique seems to provide good results in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma or esophageal cancer. It is an important component in the multimodality approach of the bile duct. With a high local dose to the tumor, surrounding normal tissues, the brachytherapy may be applied as radical treatment alone or in combination with external beam radiotherapy or may prolong patency of biliary tract as palliative treatment. Also in esophageal cancer, endoluminal brachytherapy can be used as a radical treatment in inoperable patients alone in early stage or in combination with external radiotherapy in advanced stages; in palliative cases, it is the treatment of choice to improve dysphagia and quality of life.