[CT-guided manual afterloading with 198-gold seeds in intracerebral tumors]

Interstitial brachytherapy of intracerebral tumours was stimulated through the introduction of computed tomography and afterloading technique. Biopsies for their histologic verification as well as the stereotactic implantation of plastic tubes and adjusted to the extent of the tumour can be carried out with a high degree of exactitude by means of CT-supported localization and puncture. The small-sized 198-gold seeds are then introduced according to the manual afterloading technique and remain in situ until the planned dose in the target volume of 50 Gy is achieved. Report on our manual afterloading brachytherapy in high-grade astrocytomas III and IV and in adenomas of the hypophysis. Indications of the diagnostic and therapeutic procedure, irradiation planning, calculation of the dose and discussion of our tentative clinical experience are explained.