Robert Abbe: early American brachytherapist.

Brachytherapy

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Levine Cancer Center, Worcester, MA, USA.

Published: May 2013

The study evaluates Robert Abbe's contributions to brachytherapy compared to his contemporaries in Europe and America.
It analyzes various sources, including his lectures and journal articles, to detail his impactful work in using radium for treatment and the clinical results achieved.
Abbe was a pioneering figure in brachytherapy, emphasizing radiobiology's importance and significantly shaping the field's legitimacy and practice in the United States.

Purpose: To assess Robert Abbe's career and contributions to brachytherapy, in the context of the work of contemporary European and American investigators.

Methods And Materials: Examination of his lectures and journal articles, as well as contemporaneous newspaper accounts, textbooks, and archival material.

Results: Although not the first American to apply radium therapeutically, Robert Abbe was among the earliest to acquire and systematically use a clinically significant quantity. He replicated early European experimental and clinical work, and published a large series of cases treated with generally favorable results. Abbe was the first American to emphasize the role of radiobiology in optimizing therapeutic ratio. His eloquence and stature helped legitimize the new therapeutic modality.

Conclusions: Robert Abbe was probably the nation's most influential early brachytherapist.