High dose rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer: Standard of care and future direction

High dose rate brachytherapy is a highly conformal method of radiation dose escalation for prostate cancer and one of several treatment options for men with localised disease. The large doses per fraction exploit the low alpha/beta ratio of prostate cancer cells so that biological radiation dose delivered is substantially greater than that achieved with conventional external beam delivery. This review article presents contemporary data on the rationale for high dose rate brachytherapy including treatment technique and future directions.