Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Anorectal Cancer

Abstract

Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Anorectal Cancer. Nowadays in the treatment of Malignant diseases, besides therapeutically results, the patient’s quality of life is considered very important and needs special attention. It is imperative to develop a therapy method that will yield results which gives more comfort to the patient, in particular concerning Malignancies in organs with important functions and having cosmetic aspects. One modality, which can be used in special cases, that gives good results and good quality of life for the patient is brachytherapy. Brachytherapy is a method of radiotherapy by placing or inserting a radiation source in the target area in order to give a radiation dose enough to kill cancer cells but with a low dosage for the surrounding important organs. The use of brachytherapy has flourished by the findings of several radiation sources such as iridium, which can be implanted in several Malignant locations. In anorectal Malignancy, implantation and intracavity brachytherapy with or without external radiation give good results in saving the anal sphincter and its function