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Radioactive Seed Implants Radioactive seed implants are a method of treating prostate cancer. The implants are tiny pieces of radioactive metal, each smaller than a rice grain, which are placed at precise locations within the prostate gland. In theory, the implants' dose of radiation helps maximize the radiation delivered to the tumor in the prostate while nearby organs — such as the bladder — receive considerably less radiation exposure. Subject Postings Seed Implant Treatment Hi- -----Original Message----- Study: Seeds Help Cancer Treatment ATLANTA (AP) -- Implanting radioactive seeds in the prostate to treat early stages of cancer can be as effective over the long run as surgery and more effective than external beam radiation, a new study suggests. With brachytherapy, tiny seeds of radioactive material are injected into the prostate to shrink the cancer from within. Patients treated with this method run a lower risk of urinary incontinence or impotence than with surgery, one of the most common ways to treat prostate cancer. Until now, however, there had been no evidence of the long-term value of brachytherapy. A study conducted at Northwest Hospital in Seattle looked at 152 >men 10 years after they were treated with radioactive seeds and, in some cases, beams of radiation from outside the body. Five patients couldn't be located 10 years later. Of the 147 others, 97 -- or 64 percent of the original number -- remained free of disease and had low levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, which can be an early signal of the cancer. Only three patients died of prostate cancer. ``It shows that brachytherapy is a proven, viable option for treating clinically localized prostate cancer,'' said Dr. Haakon Ragde, lead author of the study. ``This is just as effective as the best surgical results and is more effect than conventional radiation beam results.'' The study, published in Tuesday's edition of the journal Cancer, is the first to observe brachytherapy patients for a full 10 years, said Ragde, a urologist at the Seattle hospital's Northwest Prostate Institute. Earlier studies cited by Ragde showed that 13 percent to 38 percent of patients treated only with external beam radiation were disease-free after 10 years. Among patients whose prostates were surgically removed, those studies showed disease-free survival rates of 47 percent to 73 percent, Ragde said. An estimated 184,500 American men will get the disease this year and about 39,200 will die, the American Cancer Society estimates. It is the second leading cancer killer among U.S. men after lung cancer. In 1995, 34.1 percent of prostate cancer patients underwent radical prostatectomy, or surgical removal of the prostate. An additional 26.3 percent were treated with external beam radiation and only 2.2 percent with brachytherapy. ``With this data, many men are now going to be opting for seed implantation because of the numerous advantages it has in terms of reduced morbidity, impotence and incontinence,'' said Dr. Subir Nag, president of the American Brachytherapy Society. But Dr. Kevin Loughlin, director of the Prostate Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, called the study incomplete and misleading and said the 10-year survival rate with surgery is actually about 80 percent. ``I think this whole paper is really suspect,'' Loughlin said. Other discussion group summaries covered this month are: We encourage your participation in the discussion group. Click here for further information. |
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