Prostate cancer patients disease free after 5 years likely to be disease free after 10 yearsJuly 06, 2009Prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy and remain free of disease for five years or greater are unlikely to have a recurrence at 10 years, according to a study in the July 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Brachytherapy is the placement of radioactive sources in or just next to a tumor either permanently or temporarily, depending upon the cancer. In the study, researchers at The Mount Sinai Medical Center Departments of Radiation Oncology and Urology in New York followed 742 prostate cancer patients who were treated with brachytherapy alone, brachytherapy and hormonal therapy, or combined brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) between 1991 and 2002. None of these patients had recurred during their first five years post-treatment. They found that the PSA level taken at five years was an indicator of how well a patient would do in the future and the overall chance of being cancer free at 10 years was 97 percent. Also, none of the study participants developed metastatic disease or died from prostate cancer. "Our data have indicated that improvements in treatment are continuing and that these will continue to have an effect on prostate brachytherapy data for years to come," Richard Stock, M.D., lead author of the study and chairman of radiation oncology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, said. "Late failure rates will continue to decrease, making prostate brachytherapy alone and combined with hormonal therapy and/or EBRT an increasingly attractive treatment option." American Society for Radiation Oncology |
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| Related Brachytherapy Current Events and Brachytherapy News Articles Task force develops new radiation guidelines for brachytherapy Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analyzed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient. Hormone therapy for prostate cancer patients with heart conditions linked to increased death risk Men with coronary artery disease-induced congestive heart failure or heart attack who receive hormone therapy before or along with radiation therapy for treatment of prostate cancer have an associated increased risk of death. Study shows seed implants a suitable prostate cancer treatment option for men of all ages Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have a number of treatments to choose from, but it's a daunting task to figure out the right mix of therapies for an individual patient. External beam partial breast irradiation most cost-effective treatment External beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) is the most cost-effective method for treating postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer based on utilities, recurrence risks and costs when compared to whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT) and brachytherapy partial breast irradiation (brachy-PBI). Long-term study shows low oxygen levels in prostate tumors can predict recurrence Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have discovered that low-oxygen regions in prostate tumors can be used to predict a rise in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, a marker of tumor recurrence in prostate cancer. Radiation device in the breast reduces complications for early stage breast cancer patients A new study shows that the SAVI⢠applicator, a small, expandable device inserted inside the breast to deliver partial breast irradiation, carries a low infection risk, a potential complication of such devices. Agent Orange exposure increases veterans' risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at increased risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer, researchers report. High dosage brachytherapy obtains excellent results in head and neck tumors High-dosage perioperative brachytherapy (applied within the surgical process) obtains excellent results in the treatment of head and neck tumours, at the same time as reducing the period of radiation. Early results favorable for 5-day radiation treatment of early stage prostate cancer Preliminary results show that a shortened course of radiation therapy for prostate cancer called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) provides good PSA response for early-stage prostate cancer and has the same side effects as other treatments. Family history of prostate cancer does not affect some treatment outcomes In a first of its kind study, a first-degree family history of prostate cancer has no impact on the treatment outcomes of prostate cancer patients treated with brachytherapy (also called seed implants), and patients with this type of family history have clinical and pathologic characteristics similar to men with no family history at all, according to a January 1 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. More Brachytherapy Current Events and Brachytherapy News Articles |
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