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Brachytherapy in Gynecologic Cancers: Why Is It Underused?

  • Gynecologic Cancers (NS Reed, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Despite its established efficacy, brachytherapy is underused in the management of cervical and vaginal cancers in some parts of the world. Possible reasons for the underutilization of brachytherapy include the adoption of less invasive techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy; reimbursement policies favoring these techniques over brachytherapy; poor physician or patient access to brachytherapy; inadequate maintenance of brachytherapy skills among practicing radiation oncologists; transitioning to high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy with increased time requirements; and insufficient training of radiation oncology residents.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kathy Han

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, ASB1-L2, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Akila N. Viswanathan

Authors
  1. Kathy Han
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akila N. Viswanathan.

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Conflict of Interest

Kathy Han and Akila Viswanathan declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Dr. Viswanathan is the principal investigator of NIH R21 167800.

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.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gynecologic Cancers

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Han, K., Viswanathan, A.N. Brachytherapy in Gynecologic Cancers: Why Is It Underused?. Curr Oncol Rep 18, 26 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-016-0508-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-016-0508-y

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