Recurrent rectal carcinoma treated with high dose rate intraluminal brachytherapy

A 65 years old man with recurrent rectal cancer was treated with remote afterloading High Dose Rate Intraluminal Brachytherapy (HDRILB). After eight weeks of HDRILB there was complete regression of the tumor. Bleeding per rectum and pain in the perineum were greatly improved. He died of myocardial infarction after 41 months of treatment with HDRILB. The treated lesions were incomplete remission at the time of death. The procedure was well tolerated. The only treatment-associated toxicity was grade 2 proctitis, which was treated conservatively. HDRILB can be used as one of the treatment options in patients with recurrent rectal cancers who have undergone previous abdominal surgery and external beam irradiation, as exhibited in our limited experience.