High-dose Rate Electronic Brachytherapy: A Nonsurgical Treatment Alternative for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

The authors summarized data from a group of physicians with experience using high-dose rate electronic brachytherapy for the treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancer. The data have been published or presented in abstract format at national dermatology and radiation oncology meetings. The data included 1,822 treated lesions from 2009 to 2014 in patients ranging in age from 52 to 104 years. Most lesions were basal cell carcinoma (57%) or squamous cell carcinoma (38%) less than 2cm in size (97%). Median follow-up at the various centers ranged from 4 to 16 months, and results yielded an extremely low recurrence rate of less than one percent. Results show that within the confines of this follow up period, electronic brachytherapy is an effective, convenient, nonsurgical treatment option for patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer with few recurrences and excellent cosmetic results.