Patterns Of Care For Brachytherapy In Europe Research Articles

Perspectives of brachytherapy: Patterns of care, new technologies, and “new biology”

Brachytherapy has come a long way from its beginnings nearly a century ago. In recent years, brachytherapy has become ever more sophisticated thanks to a multitude of technological developments, including high-dose rate afterloading machines, image-guidance, and advanced planning systems. One of the advantages of brachytherapy, apart from the well-known capability of delivering highly conformal doses directly to the target, is that it is highly adaptable and can be used as a primary, adjunct, or salvage treatment. However, despite the existence of international treatment guidelines, the clinical practice of brachytherapy varies greatly by region, country, and even institution. In the present article, we provide an overview of recent findings from the Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE) Study and we discuss new technologies used in brachytherapy and the emerging concept of “new biology” that supports the use of high-dose brachytherapy. Compared to the 1990s, the use of brachytherapy has increased substantially and it is expected to continue growing in the future as it becomes ever more precise and efficient.

Patterns of care for brachytherapy in Europe: Updated results

Objective This descriptive survey evaluated brachytherapy (BT) practices and resources in the European area. This was a follow-up study to the original patterns of care for brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE). Materials and methods A total of 1121 radiotherapy (RT) centres from 41 countries were asked to complete an online questionnaire on BT practices and resources. Countries with fewer than 50% of centres responding were excluded. Participating countries were divided into three groups based on gross domestic product (GDP); group I contained the countries with the highest GDP. Results The response rate was 56% (633/1121 centres) with 30/41 countries (73%) meeting the inclusion criteria. Sixty percent of reporting centres provided brachytherapy. Responding centres treated an average of 138 (±10, 1 SD) patients with BT; in group I, the mean was 110/centre, an increase of 18% from 2002. CT-dosimetry increased to 61% of centres vs. 33% in 2002. HDR (high-dose rate) BT was the most commonly reported technique (65% of centres). Most BT interventions were for gynaecological tumors (59% of all cases), followed by prostate (17%), breast (9%), lung/bronchus (3%), and esophagus tumors(2%). Conclusion Gynaecological BT remains the most common application, although both prostate and breast BT have increased. CT-based dosimetry has become increasingly common since 2002. The use of HDR and PDR (pulsed-dose rate) techniques has increased markedly, while both LDR and MDR (medium-dose rate) have declined.

La curiethérapie en France en 2002 : résultats de l'enquête PCBE de l'ESTRO

The authors report the results of the Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE) throughout France. Responses were obtained for 91% of the Radiation Oncology departments, which have declared using brachytherapy for 67, and gave detailed data for 49 ones. The equipments and treated tumours were recorded. LDR brachytherapy remained the most often used (53.5%), followed by HDR (28%). PDR represented 5.5% and permanent implants 11%. The authors discuss the development of new equipment, with an aggregation of the structures, and an increase of the PDR and prostate implants use.

Overview of brachytherapy resources in Europe: A survey of patterns of care study for brachytherapy in Europe

Background and purpose The Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE) study is aimed at establishing a detailed information system on brachytherapy throughout Europe. Materials and methods The questionnaire was web-based and the analysis used data from each radiotherapy department with brachytherapy. There were three groups: Group I with 19 countries (15 initial European Community (EC) countries plus Iceland, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland -EC+4-), Group II with 10 countries (New European Community countries -NEC-) and Group III with 14 countries (Other European Countries -OEC-). Results In the European area there are 36 of 43 countries (85%) which achieved data collection from at least 50% of centres, and were included in the analysis. The tumour site that had the largest number of treated patients was gynaecological tumours. Several variations have been found in the mean number of patients treated per consultant radiation oncologist and physicist; and in the proportion of brachytherapy patients with gynaecology, prostate and breast tumours, by country and by European area. The provided data showed that the average number of brachytherapy patients per centre increased by 10% between 1997 and 2002. Conclusions A European wide evaluation of brachytherapy practice using a web-based questionnaire is feasible and that there is considerable variation in both patterns of practice and available resources.

Preliminary analysis of the resources in brachytherapy in Europe and its variability of use

The main objective of the program <<Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE)>> is to establish a group with detailed information on brachytherapy throughout Europe. The data was compiled by the general coordinator, the ESTRO, and the <<National Cancer Services Analysis>> through a website. A total of 32 countries reported data from at least 50% of their centres (criteria of inclusion). Countries were grouped in three categories based on the time of incorporation to the European Union. The majority of treatments belonged to gynaecological tumours. A large spread was found regarding workload of specialists depending on centre and group. Collection of information by a website is a feasible methodology. An increase in brachytherapy treatment was observed in all 3 groups by a rate of more than 20% (year 2002 versus year 1997). These results advocate for the continuation of the PCBE study to demonstrate the development in the field, such as an increase or decrease of patient numbers per tumour category.

232 oral Patterns of care for brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE): results for Israel

232 oral Patterns of care for brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE): results for Israel

226 Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE)

226 Patterns of Care for Brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE)

1 Patterns of care for brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE)

1 Patterns of care for brachytherapy in Europe (PCBE)