GEC-ESTRO recommendations for head & neck cancer brachytherapy (interventional radiotherapy): 2nd update with focus on HDR and PDR

Abstract

Modern brachytherapy (BT) is playing an important role in the multidisciplinary treatment of Head and Neck (H&N) cancer, as an organ- and function-preserving therapy. Low-dose-rate (LDR) technology has been replaced by modern remote afterloading and stepping source equipment using pulsed dose rate (PDR) or high dose rate (HDR) sources, improved image guidance and 3D treatment planning systems. This is an update of the previous GEC-ESTRO recommendations for H&N tumors, mainly applied to squamous carcinomas. Indications, results and recommended doses for different tumor sites are presented according to the published studies.