Quality Audits in Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy refers to the delivery of radiation therapy such that the radioactive sealed sources are placed close to or directly within the volume of interest to be treated. Sealed sources can be inserted within body cavities (e.g., the uterus, vagina, bronchus, esophagus, and rectum), placed on the surface of supercial tumors near the skin, or placed directly into a tissue by interstitial techniques as used in the head-and-neck region, prostate, and breast. e radioactive sources can be placed near the target volume either by means of a manual insertion or through the use of an aerloader. e objective of brachytherapy is to accurately locate the sources in the target so as to accurately and safely deliver the prescribed dose to the target volume in a conformal manner while avoiding unnecessary dosage to surrounding healthy tissue (Hoskin and Bownes 2006).