High-dose-rate brachytherapy for previously irradiated patients with recurrent esophageal cancer

Purpose Our objective was to assess the feasibility, efficacy, and complications of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for patients with recurrent esophageal cancer after external radiotherapy. Materials and methods Six patients with recurrent esophageal cancer after external radiotherapy were treated with HDR brachytherapy (Ir-192 source) from January 2003 to February 2004. The median age of the patients was 69 years. All patients had received external radiotherapy (median dose 60 Gy) before HDR brachytherapy. All patients underwent HDR brachytherapy once a week with a dose of 4 or 5 Gy per fraction in the esophageal mucosa (median total dose 20 Gy). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate local control rates. Results The median overall survival period was 30.0 months. Local control was observed in five patients and residual tumor in one patient. Persistent local control was observed in two patients. No patient died of esophageal cancer, and all patients survived. We observed no severe late complications related to HDR brachytherapy. Conclusion These data suggest that HDR brachytherapy is an effective and safe treatment for patients with recurrent esophageal cancer after external radiotherapy.