Radioactive seeds are an effective and very exciting therapy for men who are not candidates for surgery or don't want surgery. What that involves is taking tiny little rice-sized pellets, making them radioactive in a very controlled way so it's not wild radiation, it's very controlled, ve...
Radioactive seeds (brachytherapy) deliver radiation to the prostate with little damage to nearby tissues. Your doctor implants the tiny radioactive seeds, each like a grain of rice, in the prostate gland usingultrasoundguidance. The implants remain in place permanently and become inactive after many...
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer. The use of radioactive seeds (ie, brachytherapy) to provide radiation therapy is one of the three recommended treatment options for localized carcinoma of the prostate. This technique places the radioactive source in ...
In the 1960’s, the permanent insertion of radioactive material into the prostate gland was tried again. Two doctors tried the interstitial insertion of gold-198 into the prostate gland in conjunction with EBRT. Another center used Iodine –125 seeds to irradiate the prostate through an incision...
Temporary brachytherapy leaves no radioactive seeds inside the body, therefore, there is no risk for seed migration. Some researchers are also finding that high dose rate brachytherapy has a lower incidence of cold and hot spots. A cold spot occurs when an area is not adequately irradiated, whi...
Brachytherapy (the term is derived from the Greek word brachys, which means brief or short) refers to cancer treatment with ionizing radiation delivered via radioactive material placed a short distance from, or within, the tumor. In prostate cancer, brachytherapy involves the ultrasound- and templa...
the insertion of tiny radioactive “seeds” into the prostate. The seed implant is an outpatient procedure, performed under anesthesia. The radioactivity of the seeds slowly decays during several weeks to months after the procedure, and there are few long-term risks associated with this treatment....
Low Dose Rate (LDR) brachytherapy is another type of brachytherapy used to treat prostate cancer. LDR involves placing small radioactive seeds, typically made of iodine or palladium, directly into the prostate gland. How successful is brachytherapy for prostate cancer?
Radiation therapy may be delivered as external beam therapy, where a patient comes to the treatment center for a series of treatments which involve being immobilized in front of a radiation beam for a period of time while the carefully planned treatment is delivered. Alternatively, radioactive pell...
Treatment of the High-Risk Stage II Prostate CancerAlthough active surveillance, brachytherapy, EBRT, and radical prostatectomy are options for the management of patients with high-risk stage II prostate cancer, recurrence rates are high. There are several areas of ongoing research where doctors are ...