Radiation Seed Implants for Prostate Cancer

Procedure Description:

Early stage prostate cancer can be effectively treated with highly targeted, local radiation. The implantation of radioactive seeds has a track record of over twenty years and has the advantage of less risk of incontinence or impotence, while being as effective as external beam radiation and surgery.

The seed implant procedure involves appropriate patient selection and detailed planning. The tumor must be lower grade, Gleason score 7 or less, and limited to the prostate. CT scans are used to define the extent and volume of tumor and to plan the optimal arrangement of the seeds. This is critical to the success of the treatment, since the gamma radiation released by the isotope is largely confined to immediately adjacent tissue.

Under general or spinal anesthesia, the radioactive seeds are implanted with the guidance of ultrasonography. The entire procedure lasts about two hours, and may or may not be followed by observation overnight (23-hour stay).