Ir-192 brachytherapy by an afterloading technique: initial experience at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo.

Twenty-nine patients with various tumors treated by 192Ir brachytherapy at the National Cancer Center Hospital from 1977 to 1984 were reviewed. Of 10 patients with carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct, three with carcinoma of the urinary bladder, and three others with various tumors, none showed locally controlled disease. Two of six patients with recurrent brain tumor, three of five with skin tumor and two with carcinoma of the female genital tract showed locally controlled disease. Although the effectiveness of this mode of treatment needs to be more clearly demonstrated, it is easily applied to clinical practice and is at least as effective as radium 262 implantation.