Recommendations of the EVA GEC ESTRO Working Group: prescribing, recording, and reporting in endovascular brachytherapy. Quality assurance, equipment, personnel and education

Endovascular brachytherapy is a new, rapidly growing field of interest in r adiotherapy for the prevention of neointimal hyperplasia after angioplasty in both coronary and peripheral arteries. Many physics aspects of these tre atments have already been addressed in the report of the American Associati on of Physicists in Medicine tak group on 'Intravascular brachytherapy', bu t up to now there are no generally accepted recommendations for recording a nd reporting radiation doses and volumes. The terminology to be used by all individuals involved in such treatments (radiation oncologists, physicists , and interventionalists) is not clearly defined. The Endovascular Groupe E uropeen de Curietherapie/European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Onc ology Working Group in this document presents recommendations for a common language for general use in endovascular brachytherapy. This proposal addre sses general terms and concepts for target and dose specification as well a s detailed recommendations for dose prescription, recording and reporting i n endovascular brachytherapy for both peripheral and coronary arteries. Add itionally, quality assurance and radiation safety aspects are briefly addre ssed. as ore aspects related to equipment. personnel. and training and educ ation related to endovascular brachytherapy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Irel and Ltd. All rights reserved.