Interstitial brachytherapy is a scientifically recognized alternative solution for surgically removing the prostate tumor, or applying a series of radiotherapy sessions. A report, published in international journals, refers to a large meta-analysis of data from 52.000 patients, shows that treatment of prostate cancer with interstitial brachytherapy has at least the same success rates as the other two approaches. At the same time, however, the extra advantage of (IB) is that it has very low side-effect percentages (<1% urinary incontinence, <5% serious, i.e.: Grade 3-4, more severe side-effects from the gastrointestinal and urinary system, and >75% in maintaining erectile function), plus the fact that this treatment can be completed within 1 or 2 sessions, each of which in total, including post-operation monitoring in the ward of normally a couple of days.

To patients with breast cancer, radiotherapy treatment after surgical removal of the tumor increases survival chances, and is an integral part of the therapy throughout each stage of the disease. To patients with low risk cancer, the partial breast radiation treatment with interstitial brachytherapy (IB), offers an alternative and very effective approach, again with very encouraging results. In comparison to external radiotherapy, IB has the advantage that it is carried out in twice a day for a period of 5 to 7 days, and that radiation is concentrated in the bed of the tumor, significantly reducing the dose from infiltrating the skin, heart and lungs.

Brachytherapy is an integral part of cervical cancer radiotherapy. Studies have shown that incorporating brachytherapy into the treatment regimen (plan?) increases survival rates by 20-40%. In the brachytherapy of the cervix performed at the GOC, intraocular catheters are placed, not only in the area of ​​the cervix but also in the area of ​​the umbilical cords where the tumour may expand and is not covered by the “classic” intravaginal brachytherapy procedure. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used to design the brachytherapy plan, which helps to determine the tumour more accurately, and also to asses the degree of response to previous radiotherapy. With modern, image-guided brachytherapy, local control rates range from 85-100% depending on the stage of the disease, while the rate of serious side effects from the gastrointestinal tract is less than 5%.

Palliative radiotherapy is mainly recommended for locally advanced cancers and individual metastases in order to treat symptoms such as pain, bleeding, ulcers, shortness of breath, etc. The aim is to improve the quality of life of patients and delay the progression of the disease. In this context, brachytherapy, due to the possibility of administering high doses within the tumour, has the advantages of the rapid onset of the therapeutic effect and the small range of side effects. Brachytherapy in palliative care can be used for most solid tumours and is given in one or just a few sessions depending on the extent, location and histology of the disease.

Indicatively, brachytherapy is used successfully in recurrences of brain tumours, head-neck tumours, primary and secondary lung and liver tumours, soft tissue sarcomas, bladder tumours, prostate tumour recurrence and bone metastases with bone metastases.