Minimally invasive contact X-ray brachytherapy as an alternative option in patients with rectal cancer not suitable for bespoke surgical resection

Abstract

Surgery remains the gold standard treatment for rectal cancer. All published guidelines and most protocols recommend surgery as the standard of care. However, non-surgical management of rectal cancer is increasingly gaining acceptance as it avoids extirpative surgery and a stoma. In patients who are not suitable for surgery because of advancing age or medical comorbidities, and also in a small number of patients who are stoma phobic and refuse surgery, we need to consider an alternative treatment option to bespoke surgery. External beam radiotherapy is usually offered as an alternative. However, local regrowth rate is high and contact X-ray brachytherapy (Papillon treatment) boost can be added to reduce the risk of local regrowth after external beam radiotherapy. Case selection is important to achieve the best results.

Keywords

Contact X-ray brachytherapy / watch and wait / papillon / rectal cancer patients not suitable for surgery

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