Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Proton Therapy Delivery and Its Clinical Application in Select Solid Tumor Malignancies
Published on: February 6, 2019
Twice-daily high-dose-rate brachytherapy for medically inoperable uterine cancer
Kristina Gerszten1, Clare Faul, Joseph Kelley
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA. gersztenk@upmc.edu
Purpose:
Medically inoperable patients with uterine cancer pose a therapeutic challenge. We developed a twice-daily schedule of high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) after a single insertion procedure that required a hospitalization of 3 days.
Methods And Materials:
Favorable patients were offered brachytherapy alone, and all other patients received HDRB after pelvic external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). The prescribed dose was 7Gyx5 fractions and 4-5Gyx4-5 fractions for those treated after EBRT. HDRB was delivered with a b.i.d. schedule (4-6-h interval).
Results:
Twenty-two patients (21 Stage I, 1 Stage IIB) were deemed medically inoperable. Sixteen patients received EBRT followed by HDRB, and six received HDRB alone. There were no procedural complications or significant acute toxicity. No thromboembolic events occurred within 30 days of the implant.
Conclusions:
This technique allows patients to be treated using a single procedure for insertion, with brief hospitalization for twice-daily HDRB.
