title: American Brachytherapy Society consensus guidelines for adjuvant vaginal cuff brachytherapy after hysterectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop recommendations for the use of adjuvant vaginal cuff brachytherapy after hysterectomy and update previous American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  A panel of members of the ABS performed a literature review, supplemented their clinical experience, and formulated recommendations for adjuvant vaginal cuff brachytherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ABS endorses the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for indications for radiation therapy for patients with endometrial cancer and cervical cancer and the guidelines on quality assurance of the American Association on Physicists in Medicine. The ABS made specific recommendations for applicator selection, insertion techniques, target volume definition, dose fractionation, and specifications for postoperative adjuvant vaginal cuff therapy. The ABS recommends that applicator selection should be based on patient anatomy, target volume geometry, and physician judgment. The dose prescription point should be clearly specified. Suggested doses were tabulated for treatment with brachytherapy alone, and in combination with external beam radiation therapy, when applicable. A properly fitted brachytherapy applicator should be selected that conforms to the vaginal apex and achieves mucosal contact with optimal tumor and normal tissue dosimetry. Dose prescription points may be individually selected but doses should be reported at the vaginal surface and at 0.5-cm depth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recommendations are made for adjuvant vaginal cuff brachytherapy. Practitioners and cooperative groups are encouraged to use these recommendations to formulate their treatment and dose reporting policies. These recommendations will permit meaningful comparisons of reports from different institutions and lead to better and more appropriate use of vaginal brachytherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. WSmall@nmff.org
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: Sushil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beriwal
authors.forename: D Jeffrey
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Demanes
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Dusenbery
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eifel
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Jason J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rownd
authors.forename: Jennifer F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: De Los Santos
authors.forename: Akila N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Viswanathan
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaffney
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000592:standards; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States; D014625:Vaginal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*