Californium-252 (252Cf) versus Conventional Gamma Radiation in the Brachytherapy of Advanced Cervical Carcinoma

When photon radiotherapy is applied to cervical carcinoma, it has been observed that, despite important progress in radiotherapy technique and quality assurance, no significant increase in curative rates has resulted. Among the reasons for this is the varying radiosensitivity of different tumor subpopulations. Treatment with californium-252 (252Cf), as a source of gamma/neutron radiation in brachytherapy, provides properties and new treatment modalities that help to overcome this factor.