Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy, a form of localized radiation therapy, has been shown to be one of the most effective methods for delivering high radiation doses to the cancer; however, recent evidence suggests that increasing the localized radiation dose without bound may cause unacceptable increases in long-term side effects. This review focuses on methods that have been proposed, or are already in clinical use, to safely escalate the dose of radiation within the prostate. Read the article here.

Really excellent and well presented facts and documentation About 50 minutes (including a bit painful 5 minutes to start up)but well worth listening to When you link to the site it will ask for your name and email address before opening View the Webinar.

A study evaluated experience with salvage brachytherapy after discovery of biochemical recurrence after a prior brachytherapy procedure. Twenty-one patients treated by brachytherapy within University of Kentucky or from outside centers developed biochemical failure and had no evidence of metastases. Conclusions. Salvage brachytherapy after primary brachytherapy is possible; however, the side-effect profile after the second brachytherapy procedure was higher than after the first brachytherapy procedure. Read the article.

Calgary Tom Baker Cancer Centre radiation oncologist Dr. Siraj Husain discusses advances and new studies in the growing area of Salvage Brachytherapy. He starts with a quick but informative overview of prostate cancer, its diagnosis and treatments, and then launches into studies with graphic slides that show the groundbreaking work that is being done today in the field. Very informative, and the future looks very bright in the field of prostate cancer treatment. A lively discussion follows, including talk about the whole PSA debate. Watch the video.

High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy was originally used with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to increase the dose to the prostate without injuring the bladder or rectum. Numerous studies have reported HDR brachytherapy is safe and effective. It has been adapted for use without EBRT for cases not requiring lymph node treatment. Read the article.

High-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR) is a method of conformal dose escalation to the prostate. It can be used as a local boost in combination with external beam radiotherapy, with a high degree of efficacy and low rate of long term toxicity. Data consistently reports relapse free survival rates of greater than 90% for intermediate risk patients and greater than 80% for high risk. Results are superior to those achieved with external beam radiotherapy alone. Read the article. (Free UroToday login required.)

Brachytherapy for prostate cancer (PCa) is associated with favorable 15-year cancer-specific survival, particularly in patients with high-risk disease, a study found. In addition, brachytherapy patients who receive hormone therapy for more than 6 months have decreased all-cause survival. Read the article.