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Brachytherapy | Introduction

Brachytherapy - Treating cancer from the inside

Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy that places radioactive sources in or adjacent to target tissues. There are two main types of brachytherapy:

Permanent seed implants: commonly used for prostate cancer, radioactive seeds are left in tissue.

Temporary seed loadings: sources are placed in catheters, needles, or other appliances for a brief period of time and then removed.

The goal is the same—to conform the radiation dose to the size and shape of the target, and limit side effects by sparing the surrounding healthy anatomy. Since the sources are placed in the target area, the technique takes advantage of the inverse square law (the intensity of radiation is reduced by the square of the distance from the source) to achieve the goal.

Brachytherapy has proven to be a highly successful treatment for cancers of the prostate, cervix, endometrium, breast, bronchus, esophagus, and head and neck, as well as soft tissue sarcomas and several other types of cancer.

Varian has been very active in the brachytherapy market since 1994, and produces a wide range of products to support planning and delivery of these treatments.

 

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Varian Oncology Headquarters
Tel: 1.650.424.5700
Fax: 1.650.493.5637
E-Mail: ca@varian.com

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