Current Oncology Reports

, 19:2 | Cite as

Endoluminal and Interstitial Brachytherapy for the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Malignancies: a Systematic Review

  • Sujana Gottumukkala
  • Vasu Tumati
  • Brian Hrycushko
  • Michael Folkert
Gastrointestinal Cancers (J Meyer, Section Editor)
First Online:
  • 130 Downloads
Part of the following topical collections:
  1. Topical Collection on Gastrointestinal Cancers

Abstract

Radiation therapy is an integral component in the multimodality management of many gastrointestinal (GI) cancers at all stages of clinical presentation. With recent advances in technology and radiation delivery, external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) can be delivered with reduced toxicity. However, despite these advances, EBRT doses are still limited by the presence of radiosensitive serial structures near clinical targets in the GI tract. Relative to EBRT techniques, brachytherapy techniques have a lower integral dose and more rapid fall-off, allowing for high-dose delivery with little normal tissue exposure. Given the unique characteristics of brachytherapy, it is an attractive strategy to treat GI malignancies. This review addresses the application of both high-dose rate brachytherapy (HDRBT) and low-dose rate brachytherapy (LDRBT) to multiple GI malignancies for both definitive and palliative management.

Keywords

Brachytherapy Endoluminal brachytherapy Interstitial brachytherapy High-dose rate brachytherapy Low-dose rate brachytherapy Gastrointestinal malignancy Palliative care Biliary brachytherapy Endoesophageal brachytherapy Endorectal brachytherapy 
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Notes

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of Interest

Sujana Gottumukkala, Vasu Tumati, Brian Hrycushko, and Michael Folkert declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sujana Gottumukkala
    • 1
  • Vasu Tumati
    • 1
  • Brian Hrycushko
    • 2
  • Michael Folkert
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Radiation OncologySimmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterDallasUSA
  2. 2.Department of Medical Physics and EngineeringSimmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterDallasUSA

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