Big reduction possible in number of implant needles used in brachytherapy

URO TODAY: A substantial reduction of the number of implantation needles used in brachytherapy is possible without compromising adequate dose coverage of the prostate, new research shows.  However, the chance of an unpredicted high dose to other organs increases as fewer needles are used. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »

Numb penis after brachytherapy can be treated

URO TODAY: A numb penis is a rare complication from brachytherapy for prostate cancer, but it can be fixed. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »

Permanent brachytherapy giving excellent long term results for prostate cancer patients

URO TODAY: Brachytherapy involving permanent insertion of radioactive seeds is giving excellent long-term results with prostate cancer patients, regardless of disease severity, a 12-year study has found. READ MORE>

At 12 years, biochemical failure and cause-specific mortality were 1.8% and 0.2%, 5.1% and 2.1%, and 10.4% and 7.1% for Gleason scores 5 to 6 and 7 and >/=8, respectively.

These results are echoed by a Canadian study. READ MORE>

And a Serbian study adds further similar information. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »

Wrinkle gel effective at shielding rectum from prostate cancer treatment radiation

URO TODAY: A gel used to fix facial wrinkles has also been found to effectively shield the rectum from radiation damage during brachytherapy. READ MORE>

Hylaform increased the separation between the prostate and rectum and decreased the mean rectal dose, thereby improving the gastrointestinal-related acute quality of life of prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Read Full Post »

Getting radiation dose right in brachytherapy crucial to patient survival

BASQUE RESEARCH.COM: The radiation dose given during brachytherapy treatment of low-risk prostate cancer influences patient survival, Spanish researchers have found. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »

‘…the arrival of image-guided brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer’

URO TODAY: A US trial combining high dose rate brachytherapy with external beam radiation treatment “marks the arrival of image-guided brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer”, the researchers claim. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »

Expert panel says how prostate cancer treatments could be improved

URO TODAY:  The five main prostate cancer treatments can all have bad side effects, so a panel of 15 specialists have compared them and come up with some recommended improvements.

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the tumours with the highest incidence in recent years. PC therapies have several adverse effects.

A panel consensus recommendation has been made to prevent or ameliorate complications in PC treatment to improve quality of life.

Fifteen specialists have met to analyse the different toxicities associated with PC treatment.

Each medical specialist searched National Library of Medicine PubMed citations about these secondary effects and his specialty from 1999 to 2009 to propose measures for their prevention/amelioration.

• Surgery is associated with incontinence and impotence.
• Radiotherapy can produce acute, late urological and gastrointestinal toxicity.
• Brachytherapy can produce acute urinary retention.
• Chemotherapy is associated with haematotoxicity. peripheral neuropathy and diarrhoea.
• And hormone therapy can produce osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, cognitive and muscular alterations, cardiotoxicity, etc.

Improvement in surgical techniques and technology (IMRT/IGRT) can prevent surgical and radiotherapeutic toxicity, respectively.

Brachytherapy toxicity can be prevented with precise techniques to preserve the urethra.

Chemotherapy toxicity can be prevented with personalized schedules of treatment and close follow-up of iatrogenia

And hormone therapy toxicity can be prevented with close follow-up of possible secondary effects.

Read Full Post »

Brachytherapy takes off in Wellington – or does it?

PROSTABLOG NZ: This story and picture in today’s Dominion-Post newspaper shows how poor media coverage is on the topic of prostate cancer.

It suggests that brachytherapy radiation treatment – largely available only at a private clinic in Tauranga for about $30,000 – is now fully available to the public at Wellington Hospital.

Is it? The story doesn’t really explain. What kind of brachytherapy are we talking about here?

Hopefully, someone can enlighten us…

Read Full Post »

New guidelines issued in US for prostate cancer brachytherapy treatment

URO TODAY: Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analysed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient, according to new brachytherapy guidelines just issued in the US. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »

Researchers look at longer term brachytherapy side effects that involve the bowel

URO TODAY: Permanent brachytherapy implants sometimes have a detrimental effect on a patient’s bowel, so German researchers have been looking at whether side effects are any worse 30 days to a year after treatment. READ MORE>

Read Full Post »