- P Nickers: Département universitaire de radiothérapie et curiethérapie, centre Oscar-Lambret, 3, rue Frédéric-Combemale, 59000 Lille, France. p-nickers@o-lambret.fr
This article aims at presenting the interest of high dose rate brachytherapy in the radiation treatment of prostatic adenocarcinoma. We will discuss successively the biological and dosimetric specificity of brachytherapy for this particular cancer. Afterwards, we will review the main phase II and III studies, the therapeutic indications in the daily practice from the evidence based medicine as well as the techniques of external beam radiation therapy for the same indications. Finally, the principal avenues of development will be discussed.