ReviewJournal of contemporary brachytherapy2026
Modern brachytherapy modalities vs. external beam radiotherapy in post-operative non-melanoma skin cancer: A systematic review.
Review in Journal of contemporary brachytherapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Facial non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are primarily managed surgically, but adjuvant or definitive radiotherapy is indicated for high-risk or anatomically complex lesions. While electron-based external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) remains standard, high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy modalities now utilize surface moulds, 3D-printed applicators, interstitial implants, and flap techniques. This systematic review assessed the oncological efficacy, dosimetric characteristics, toxicity, and cosmetic outcomes of these brachytherapy techniques compared with EBRT. Material and methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar, Springer, and Wiley Online Library for studies evaluating modern brachytherapy and EBRT in NMSC. Data on local control (LC), cosmesis, organ preservation, and toxicity were extracted and synthesized. Results: Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Modern brachytherapy achieved local control rates of 90% to 100%, demonstrating clinical non-inferiority to EBRT. Brachytherapy exhibited a steeper dose fall-off than EBRT, facilitating target volume dose delivery while sparing adjacent organs at risk. This advantage resulted in high rates of organ preservation, notably avoiding radiation-induced cataracts in periocular applications, and favorable clinician- and patient-reported cosmetic outcomes. Utilizing 3D-printing optimized applicator conformity, and eliminated air gaps in irregular anatomical topographies. Morbidity was primarily limited to transient grade 1 or 2 acute cutaneous reactions, with severe late toxicities below 2%. Conclusions: Modern HDR brachytherapy provides local control equivalent to EBRT, along with superior dosimetric conformity, functional preservation, and cosmetic outcomes. Its capacity for hypofractionation also offers an operational advantage. Treatment selection requires an individualized, multidisciplinary approach based on tumor depth, anatomical complexity, and institutional capability. Future multicenter randomized controlled trials incorporating standardized patient-reported outcomes are required to validate these findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.