brachytherapy
Meaning of brachytherapy: Brachytherapy delivers radiation from a sealed source placed directly inside or next to a tumor, concentrating the dose while sparing nearby tissue.
Definition of brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy in which a sealed source of radioactive material is placed directly into or immediately next to a tumor, rather than delivering radiation from a machine located outside the body. The radioactive material may be contained in small seeds, needles, wires, or catheters positioned at the treatment site.
Because radiation intensity falls off quickly with distance from its source, placing the source directly at the tumor allows a concentrated dose to reach the target while limiting the dose that surrounding healthy tissue receives, an advantage compared with delivering the same dose from outside the body.
Brachytherapy can be given as a temporary placement, with the source removed after a set period, or, in some cases, as a permanent implant that gradually loses its radioactivity over time, and it is used either on its own or in combination with external beam radiation, depending on the type and location of the tumor.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Brachytherapy was used to deliver a concentrated radiation dose directly to the tumor site.
Good to know
Brachytherapy concentrates radiation dose near the implanted source, which limits exposure to nearby healthy tissue compared with external beam radiation delivered from outside the body.
Word origin
Where “brachytherapy” comes from
Formed from Greek brachys, meaning short, and therapeia, meaning treatment, describing radiation delivered over a short distance.