Brachytherapy in France in 2020: State of the art and perspectives from the Groupe curiethérapie de la SFRO

Because of its principle and its high proof level clinical results, brachytherapy represents a specific irradiation technique for the treatment of primary tumors as well as some local relapses in pre-irradiated area. After a glory period between the 80's and 90's, brachytherapy has progressively lost its attractiveness. In order to provide a practical solution to this deleterious situation, it is important that guardianships, health care payers, patient associations, specialist doctors and radiation oncologists understand the reasons leading to this harmful state as well as the risks concerned. A teaching judged insufficient, non-adapted value and an aging image of brachytherapy represent the three main reasons of this degradation and constitute the three most important challenges conditioning its maintain in the anticancer treatment arsenal. An adapted communication with radiation oncologists themselves but also with the other scientific societies remains crucial as well as with guardianship and patient associations. It is central that brachytherapy could be recognized in order to make it stronger and accessible for all the patients who could need it.