Which therapy is described as placing radioactive materials inside the body to treat cancer?

Which therapy is described as placing radioactive materials inside the body to treat cancer?

• A. External beam radiation therapy
• B. Brachytherapy
• C. Chemotherapy
• D. Targeted therapy

Answer: (B)

Putting radioactive materials inside the body to treat cancer is brachytherapy. This approach places the radioactive source directly into or very close to the tumor, delivering a high radiation dose to the cancer while sparing surrounding healthy tissue because the radiation doesn’t have to travel far. Treatments can be temporary, with the source removed after a set period, or permanent, with an implant left in place. The proximity to the tumor allows an effective dose in a shorter overall treatment time. External beam radiation therapy, by contrast, delivers radiation from outside the body, passing through healthy tissue to reach the tumor. Chemotherapy uses systemic drugs that travel through the bloodstream to affect cancer cells throughout the body. Targeted therapy uses specific agents designed to interfere with molecular pathways that drive cancer growth, not radioactive implants.

Putting radioactive materials inside the body to treat cancer is brachytherapy. This approach places the radioactive source directly into or very close to the tumor, delivering a high radiation dose to the cancer while sparing surrounding healthy tissue because the radiation doesn’t have to travel far. Treatments can be temporary, with the source removed after a set period, or permanent, with an implant left in place. The proximity to the tumor allows an effective dose in a shorter overall treatment time.

External beam radiation therapy, by contrast, delivers radiation from outside the body, passing through healthy tissue to reach the tumor. Chemotherapy uses systemic drugs that travel through the bloodstream to affect cancer cells throughout the body. Targeted therapy uses specific agents designed to interfere with molecular pathways that drive cancer growth, not radioactive implants.