Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Seed Implants Have High Survival Rates

More than 90% of men who receive appropriate radiation dose levels with permanent radiation seed implants to treat their prostate cancer are cured of their cancer eight years after diagnosis, according to investigators.

Seed implants have become a widely-accepted treatment alternative for early stage prostate cancer because it is very effective at curing the cancer, is minimally invasive and frequently spares patients from side effects of other treatments, such as impotence and incontinence. The seeds, similar in size to a grain of rice, contain a radiation dose that, once implanted, delivers concentrated radiation to the prostate, sparing surrounding organs and tissue.

In this study, published in the February 1, 2007, issue of the International Journal for Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, researchers evaluated the long-term results of permanent seed implants in men with early stage prostate cancer. Nearly 2,700 men were studied at 11 institutions in the United States over eight years. The radioactive seeds were administered with the aid of ultrasound-guided techniques to precisely position the seeds in the prostate gland. The patients received the seed implants as the only treatment for prostate cancer with no additional chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

"This study is exciting because it shows that brachytherapy alone without additional surgery, radiation, or drugs can be effective at curing early-stage prostate cancer,” said Michael J. Zelefsky, M.D., lead investigator of the study and chief of brachytherapy services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY, USA). "These results also confirm other findings that the quality of the seed implant is a critical ingredient for achieving a better outcome.”



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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center