Tracheobronchial Brachytherapy

Tracheobronchial brachytherapy is a targeted radiation treatment that places a radiation source directly inside the airways to treat tumors in the lungs or windpipe.

What is Tracheobronchial Brachytherapy?

This treatment, also called endobronchial brachytherapy, delivers a high dose of radiation from inside your body to shrink tumors blocking an airway. By treating the tumor from within, it helps protect nearby healthy tissues like your lungs, heart and esophagus from radiation. It is often used to relieve symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath or bleeding caused by the tumor.

How It's Different from External Radiation

• External Beam Radiation: Delivers radiation from a machine outside your body, passing through skin and healthy tissue to reach the tumor.
   
• Brachytherapy (Internal Radiation): Delivers radiation directly to the tumor from inside your airway, minimizing exposure to surrounding areas.

Who is a Candidate for This Treatment?

Your care team may recommend this treatment if you have a tumor in a central airway (trachea or bronchi) that is causing a blockage or other symptoms. It can be used alone or combined with other treatments like external radiation or chemotherapy. It is often a good option for patients who have already had the maximum safe dose of external radiation to the chest.

What to Expect During the Procedure

The treatment is performed by a radiation oncologist and a lung specialist (pulmonologist).

• Before: You will receive sedation or anesthesia to keep you comfortable. A doctor will then guide a thin, flexible tube with a camera on the end (a bronchoscope) through your nose or mouth into the affected airway.
   
• During: A small, hollow tube called a catheter is placed through the bronchoscope to the tumor site. The bronchoscope is then removed. The catheter is connected to a machine that sends a tiny radioactive source directly to the tumor for a few minutes. You will not feel the radiation. Once the treatment is complete, the source and the catheter are removed.
   
• After: You will be monitored in a recovery area as the sedation wears off. Most patients can go home the same day.

Benefits and Risks

The main benefit of tracheobronchial brachytherapy is fast and effective relief from symptoms caused by an airway obstruction. Because the radiation is highly focused, it has a lower risk of damaging nearby healthy organs compared to external radiation.

Risks are low but can include irritation to the airway, which may cause a temporary cough or discomfort. Your care team will discuss all potential benefits and risks with you based on your specific health situation.

Side effects are usually mild and temporary. They may include:

• A sore throat
• A mild cough
• Shortness of breath

These symptoms typically improve within a few days.