Moving on from LDR to HDR

Abstract

Low-dose-rate (LDR) intracavitary brachytherapy for the uterine cervix was a standard treatment modality in the first half of the twentieth century. High-dose-rate (HDR) intracavitary brachytherapy was developed to overcome some drawbacks of LDR brachytherapy (e.g., exposure of the medical staff and long treatment time). After biological effects including fractionation effects of HDR brachytherapy were determined by basic and clinical studies, HDR intracavitary brachytherapy increasingly has been used by the early twenty-first century. Advantage of adjustability of dose distribution in HDR brachytherapy accelerated the clinical application by development and introduction of CT/MRI images in image-guided brachytherapy (IGBT) in these days.