Perioperative high-dose rate brachytherapy using a bendy applicator (flab): treatment results of 74 patients.
BACKGROUND
Radiotherapy plays a pivotal role in tumor treatment. Brachytherapy as an additional radiation technique allows local dose increments in areas at high risk of local failure.


METHODS
Our past 15-year experience with tissue-equivalent bendy applicator brachytherapy at the University Hospital Münster, Germany was reviewed. A series of 74 consecutive patients who had mainly been treated for sarcomas with perioperative brachytherapy was analyzed with a focus on local relapse-free survival and side-effects.


RESULTS
The 5-year local control rate was 73% in primary treatment situations with a significant influence of additional external irradiation, surgical margin depth and tumor entity. Late sequelae of combined modality treatment were observed in 40 patients (54%) and mainly concerned wound healing (n = 18, 24%).


CONCLUSIONS
A high-risk collective, in view of local failure, showed adequate local control rates as well as acceptable late sequelae. Flab brachytherapy is a good treatment option to achieve local radiation dose increments in patients at high risk of local failure.
Bölling
Tobias
T
Department of Radiotherapy, University Hospital Münster, Germany. Tobias.Boelling@ukmuenster.de
Schüller
Patrick
P
Distelmaier
Bernd
B
Schuck
Andreas
A
Ernst
Iris
I
Gosheger
Georg
G
Winkelmann
Winfried
W
Dirksen
Uta
U
Jürgens
Heribert
H
Kronholz
Hans-Lars
HL
Willich
Normann
N
Könemann
Stefan
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019990:Perioperative Care; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult