GEC-ESTRO ACROP recommendations on calibration and traceability of HE HDR-PDR photon-emitting brachytherapy sources at the hospital level.

Perez-Calatayud, Jose; Ballester, Facundo; Carlsson Tedgren, Åsa; DeWerd, Larry A; Papagiannis, Panagiotis; Rivard, Mark J; Siebert, Frank-André; Vijande, Javier · Radiother Oncol · 2022

expert_opinion · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

The vast majority of radiotherapy departments in Europe using brachytherapy (BT) perform temporary implants of high- or pulsed-dose rate (HDR-PDR) sources with photon energies higher than 50 keV. Such techniques are successfully applied to diverse pathologies and clinical scenarios. These recommendations are the result of Working Package 21 (WP-21) initiated within the BRAchytherapy PHYsics Quality Assurance System (BRAPHYQS) GEC-ESTRO working group with a focus on HDR-PDR source calibration. They provide guidance on the calibration of such sources, including practical aspects and issues not specifically accounted for in well-accepted societal recommendations, complementing the BRAPHYQS WP-18 Report dedicated to low energy BT photon emitting sources (seeds). The aim of this report is to provide a European-wide standard in HDR-PDR BT source calibration at the hospital level to maintain high quality patient treatments.

Medical subject headings