Prostate cancer, what is high-dose brachytherapy?

By Cristiano Antonino On Feb 6, 2023

It is a radiotherapy technique that promises to revolutionise cancer therapies using radiation. It is called ‘high-dose brachytherapy’ and is administered in a single session lasting only a few minutes, which has proven effective in treating low-risk prostate cancer

High-dose brachytherapy: what is it?

Thanks to a series of catheters that reach the area to be treated, radiation is more effective, faster and safer because the radiation reaches the target while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

The study involved 441 men with prostate cancer in three different categories according to their likelihood of spreading: low risk (44 men), medium risk (285 men) and high risk (112 men).

All patients received a single high dose of radiation, but 166 men also received hormone therapy.

None, however, underwent surgery or chemotherapy.

The researchers monitored the participants’ health for 26 months after the session, periodically measuring prostate-specific antigen (Psa) levels, indicative of the effectiveness of the cancer therapy.

Two years after the brachytherapy session, 94 of the patients showed Psa (prostate antigen) values in the normal range.

The therapy was effective in 100% of men with low-risk cancer, 95% of patients with medium-risk cancer, and 92% of men with high-risk cancer.

Excellent results were also obtained in the three-year follow-up: Psa levels were normal in 100 per cent of patients with low-risk tumours, in 86 per cent of men with medium-risk tumours, and in 75 per cent of those with high-risk tumours.