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Prostate radiation seed brachytherapy for early prostate cancer.
- Prostate brachytherapy involves the delivery of curative radiation therapy of the prostate from precisely implanted radioactive seeds – exactly placed within the prostate gland itself. It is radiation therapy “from within”.
- The advantages of brachytherapy are that the curative radiation dose to the tumour is maximised, whereas the radiation dose to the surrounding normal structures of the pelvis is minimised.
- Prostate radiation seed brachytherapy has greater than ten year cure rates equivalent to surgery.
- Side effects of treatment of prostate cancer by radiation seed brachytherapy are almost always considerably less than those that follow major surgery. Two thirds of patients retain sexual potency and the incidence of any incontinence of urine after the procedure is less than 1%.
- In 2003, prostate radiation seed brachytherapy became the preferred option by patients in the USA, over radical surgery/prostatectomy for curing their prostate cancer.
- The prostate cancer, radiation seed brachytherapy implant service at the Princess Grace Hospital was the third service to be established in the UK and has five years of continuous experience with this technique. Equipment has recently been updated in all areas where there have been advances to provide a more steamlineed programme.
- Research into the role of MRI scanning to audit seed distribution and dosimetry has been pioneering.
