Howard Kelly establishes gynecologic brachytherapy in the United States
This article was first presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Brachytherapy Society.
Received 22 January 2009; received in revised form 27 September 2009; accepted 2 October 2009. published online 21 December 2009.
Abstract
Purpose
Exploration of Howard Atwood Kelly's contributions to gynecologic brachytherapy.
Methods and Materials
Review of contemporary journals, texts, newspaper accounts, and the memoirs of Kelly's associates. Information from unpublished material, including Kelly's handwritten notes and diaries, was culled from the Alan Mason Chesney Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
Results
Despite European reports of radium's efficacy, gynecologists on both sides of the Atlantic resisted its adoption. The endorsement of radium therapy by America's foremost gynecologist, Howard Kelly, was instrumental in its acceptance. His consummate skill as clinician, investigator, publicist, and entrepreneur established brachytherapy as the primary treatment modality for carcinoma of the cervix and vagina. The technique he pioneered in the second decade of the 20th century, a combination of brachytherapy and megavoltage-equivalent teletherapy, presaged modern practice.
Conclusion
Principles for the management of female genital neoplasia, outlined by Howard Kelly nine decades ago, remain relevant today.
Corresponding author. Radiation Oncology, Levine Cancer Center of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, 33 Kendall Street, Worcester, MA 01605. Tel.: +1-508-334-6550; fax: +1-508-334-5624.
ABSTRACT