Institut IMOR is a reference center in oncological treatments. A pioneer in Spain in techniques such as image-guided radiotherapy and brachytherapy, it attends a large number of foreign patients through Barcelona Medical Center (BCM). BenjamĂn Guix is the medical director of the foundation.
What is brachytherapy?
Brachytherapy is a way of treating a tumor with radiation by placing radioactive sources inside the patient. The main advantage is that in this way a very high dose of radiation is applied to specific points without the need to pass through other healthy tissues close to the organ or area to be treated. It is like a remote-controlled treatment.
How is this objective achieved?
First of all, and after applying a little local anesthesia to the area to be treated, applicators must be placed, which will be the path that the external radioactive sources will then follow. By means of image control, with an ultrasound scan or a scanner, very fine catheters are introduced into the affected area and then a scan or tac scan is performed so that the computer can calculate the dose distribution, i.e. the speed and time that the radioactive source must stop at each of the points. The dose in each of them is practically negligible, but the sum of all of them is capable of totally destroying the cancer cells without irradiating the surrounding healthy cells. The aim of this type of treatment is to cure without injuring and preserve the organs.
Can brachytherapy alone eliminate all cancer cells, or must it be complemented by another type of treatment?
In some cases, brachytherapy is one hundred percent curative on its own, while in others, on the other hand, it has to be combined with external radiotherapy because wider safety margins are required. In any case, these are highly individualized treatments that vary according to the nature of each case.
Which tumors are most commonly treated with this technique?
Firstly, prostate tumors. In this case, this technique gives phenomenal results: in ten years of follow-up in Spain, more than 98% of the people who have undergone surgery have overcome the disease with minimal sequelae, being able to lead practically normal lives in all respects. Brachytherapy has also been used for many years in the treatment of gynecological tumors, since surgery can be counterproductive in many cases; it is also widely used in breast tumors, allowing excellent aesthetic results. We have been treating patients for more than twenty years with phenomenal results. In addition, better and better techniques are being developed that make the treatments more comfortable, faster and less aggressive.
Does brachytherapy also reduce the side effects of this type of treatment?
Our challenge is to cure better without the need to cause sequelae; that six months or ten years after finishing one of these treatments, the patient does not even remember that he or she has undergone it. This is our greatest satisfaction, that the biological price of the cure is minimal. The treatments that best achieve this goal are radiotherapy and brachytherapy.