Prostate Cancer Options for Care
Prostate Seed Implants
Radioactive Seed Implantation is one method used to treat prostate cancer at Innovis Health Cancer Center. By using a needle to inject radioactive seeds into the prostate gland, radiation is released over the period of a few weeks. Patients who find it difficult to return to the clinic for traditional radiation therapy especially like this option. Innovis Health Cancer Center was the first to offer this service in the region.
After a diagnosis of prostate cancer has been established with a biopsy, the patient should discuss the treatment options with a radiation oncologist and an urologist.
Radiation therapy treatment options to cure prostate cancer include:
- External beam radiation therapy
- Prostate brachytherapy
External beam radiation therapy involves a series of daily outpatient treatments to accurately deliver radiation to the prostate. There are two principal methods for delivering external beam radiation.
- Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
- 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy
IMRT is the most recent advance in the delivery of radiation. IMRT allows more precise adjustment of radiation doses to the tissues within the target area, potentially allowing for an increased radiation dose to the prostate and reduced dose to nearby normal tissues. Higher dose to the prostate translate into a greater chance for cure, while lower doses to surrounding organs mean fewer side effects. Here at Innovis Health Cancer Center, we were the first in the region to offer IMRT for prostate cancer treatment – we implemented IMRT in 2001. Also, we do offer the option of 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy.
Prostate brachytherapy, better known as a seed implant, is often done in the operating room. Brachytherapy is designed to deliver a very high dose of radiation to the tumor by inserting radioactive seeds directly into the prostate gland under ultrasonic guidance while the patient is under anesthesia. Isotopes of iodine or palladium are most commonly used. The seeds are approximately 4 millimeters long and less than a millimeter in diameter. In certain situations, both prostate brachytherapy and IMRT may be used to combat the tumor.
Prostatectomy is the surgical removal of the prostate and is performed by an urologist. A radical prostatectomy can be performed to remove the prostate and the nearby areas where the cancer has spread. This type of surgery may help prevent further spread of the cancer.
Surgical treatment options include radical retropubic prostatectomy and radical perineal prostatectomy. These are the two most common types of prostatectomy procedures. The entire prostate gland, attached seminal vesicles, and some nearby tissues are removed during these surgeries.
Details of these treatments should be discussed with a radiation oncologist and with an urologist.
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