Electronic Brachytherapy and Superficial Radiation Therapy: Will You Be Adding It to Your Practice?

How often do you consider radiation therapy as a treatment option for nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs)? Malignancies, including skin cancers, have been treated with radiation since the early 1900s, but this treatment method fell out of favor because of improved cure rates achieved via surgical excision and Mohs micrographic surgery as well as the high cost of radiation devices. First-line treatment of NMSCs includes modalities such as electrodesiccation and curettage; surgery (eg, conventional excision, Mohs surgery); or topical agents when appropriate, such as imiquimod cream 5% (an immunomodulator) or 5-fluorouracil cream (a chemotherapy agent). Conventional surgical excision and Mohs surgery remain the gold standards for the treatment of NMSC; however, advocates of radiation therapy believe it should be considered more frequently.