³²P implants for radiotherapy: fabrication and applications

LDR brachytherapy can modulate wound healing avoiding hyper-proliferation and benign stenosis of endogenous tubular structures such as bile duct or urethra. Polymer foils filled with up to 10% ³¹P have been developed and tested for their radiation resistance during neutron activation of ³¹P to ³²P, wash-out behavior and dose distribution. The therapeutic range of the pure electron emitter ³²P was measured to be only a few millimeters delivering minimal dose to the healthy tissue surrounding the treated stenosis. Dose distribution was confirmed by Geant4 simulation. This newly developed ³²P-foil offers a simple and safe way to irradiate very precisely tissue with a dose up to some 60 Gy, therefore irradiation of benign as well as malign proliferation could be possible. Radiation protection can be simply assured with 10 mm thick plexiglass devices. The LDR-brachytherapy seems to be better matched to modulate the wound-healing process than short term irradiation