Prostate-specific antigen relapse-free survival and side-effects in 734 patients with up to 10 years of follow-up with localized prostate cancer treated by permanent iodine implants

The Current Trend of Radiation Therapy for Patients with Localized Prostate Cancer

A recent approach to radiotherapy for prostate cancer is the administration of high doses of radiation to the prostate while minimizing the risk of side effects. Thus, image-guided radiotherapy utilizes advanced imaging techniques and is a feasible strategy for increasing the radiation dose. New radioactive particles are another approach to achieving high doses and safe procedures. Prostate brachytherapy is currently considered as a combination therapy. Spacers are useful to protect adjacent organs, specifically the rectum, from excessive radiation exposure.

Biochemical outcomes and toxicities in young men with prostate cancer after permanent iodine-125 seed implantation: Prospective cohort study in 6662 patients

PURPOSE

We evaluated the effect of age, <60 and ≥60 years, on biochemical outcomes and toxicities in patients with prostate cancer who underwent permanent seed implantation (PI) ± external beam radiation therapy ± hormone therapy in a national Japanese prospective cohort study (J-POPS).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The safety and efficacy analyses included 6721 and 6662 patients, respectively. We categorized patients into two age groups: <60 (n = 716) and ≥60 (n = 6,005) years. We used propensity score matching (PSM) to estimate the marginal effect of age on biochemical freedom from failure (bFFF) using a Phoenix definition and Cox proportional hazard models.

RESULTS

The median followup period was 60.0 months. Without PSM, men <60 years demonstrated similar 5-year bFFF (96.3%) compared with men ≥60 years (95.6%; p = 0.576); percent positive biopsies, biologically effective dose, Gleason score, risk classification, and supplemental external beam radiation therapy (p <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, 0.008, and <0.001) were significantly associated with bFFF while age was not (p = 0.576). With PSM, bFFF was not significantly different between age groups (p = 0.664); however, men <60 years showed a significantly lower incidence of declining erectile function, grade ≥2 all urinary toxicities, urinary frequency/urgency, and rectal bleeding (p <0.001, 0.024, 0.031, and 0.010) than men ≥60 years.

CONCLUSIONS

After PI, men <60 years achieved a comparable 5-year biochemical control rate and showed a lower incidence of several toxicities compared to men ≥60 years. This suggests that PI should be an excellent treatment option for men <60 years with prostate cancer.

Eligibility criteria according to EAU/ESTRO/SIOG guidelines for exclusive iodine-125 brachytherapy for intermediate-risk prostate adenocarcinoma patients: impact on relapse-free survival

Purpose

Iodine-125 (¹²⁵I) brachytherapy (BT) alone for intermediate-risk (IR) prostate adenocarcinoma (PCA) is controversial. The purpose of the study was to investigate potential predictive factors in selected IR-PCA patients treated with BT.

Material and methods

Among 547 patients treated with ¹²⁵I BT between 2003 and 2013, 149 IR-PCA cases were selected according to NCCN classification after an additional exclusion of patients with prostate specific antigen (PSA) > 15 ng/ml and ISUP group 3. A relapse was defined as a biochemical failure, using ASTRO Phoenix definition, or a relapse identified on imaging. Survival curves were estimated with Kaplan-Meier method. Potential prognostic variables including EAU/ESTRO/SIOG guidelines eligibility criteria were analyzed using univariate and Cox’s proportional hazards regression analysis.

Results

Of the 149 IR patients, 112 were classified as favorable, with 69 cases eligible to BT according to EAU/ESTRO/SIOG guidelines, and 37 patients were identified as unfavorable as per NCCN. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was applied in 6 patients only. Percentage of positive biopsy cores were ≤ 33% and ≥ 50% for 119 and 11 patients, respectively. With a median follow-up of 8.5 years, 30 patients experienced a relapse. 10-year overall survival, progression-free survival (PFS), and relapse-free survival (RFS) were 84% (95% CI: 75-90%), 66% (95% CI: 56-75%), and 77% (95% CI: 67-84%), respectively. Failure to meet EAU/ESTRO/SIOG criteria was significantly associated with a lower RFS (p = 0.0267, HR = 2.37 [95% CI: 1.10-5.08%]).

Conclusions

Brachytherapy is an effective treatment for selected IR-PCA cases. Patients who were not eligible according to EAU/ESTRO/SIOG guidelines demonstrated a lower RFS.

Acute and late side-effects after low dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer; incidence, management and technical considerations

PURPOSE

To review common reported side effects and complications after primary LDR-BT (monotherapy) and discuss some of the technical aspects that could impact the treatment outcomes.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A literature search was undertaken using medical subject headings (MeSH) complemented by the authors' personal and institutional expertise.

RESULTS

The reported incidence of acute and late grade 2 or above urinary, bowel and sexual side effects is very variable across the literature. The learning curve and the implant quality have a clear impact on the toxicity outcomes. Being aware of some of the technical challenges encountered during the procedure and ways to mitigate them could decrease the incidence of side effects. Careful planning of seed placement and seed deposition allow sparing of the organs at risk and a lower incidence of urinary and gastro-intestinal toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

Low dose-rate brachytherapy remains a standard monotherapy treatment in the setting of favorable-risk prostate cancer. High disease control and low long-term toxicities are achievable in expert hands with a good technique.

Acute and late toxicities in localized prostate cancer patients treated with low-dose 125I brachytherapy (110 Gy) in combination with external beam radiation therapy versus brachytherapy alone (160 Gy)

Purpose

The aim of this analysis was to compare acute and late toxicities between low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) (110 Gy) in combination with 45 Gy in 25 fractions external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and LDR-BT (160 Gy) alone for localized prostate cancer.

Material and methods

One hundred five consecutive patients with localized prostate cancer treated from May 2014 to May 2017 were included in this retrospective analysis. Sixty patients received combination therapy and 45 patients received BT monotherapy. The LDR-BT procedure was performed using ¹²⁵I seeds.

Results

The median follow-up time was 28 months in both groups. Three-year effect rates were overall survival: 100% in both groups. The biochemical failure rate was 2.3% in the combination group and 0% in the monotherapy group (p = 0.373). No patients died during the study period. In both groups, almost all the patients experienced acute urethritis. There was a significant difference between the combination therapy group (8.3%) and BT monotherapy group (11.1%) in late genitourinary (GU) toxicities ≥ grade 2 (p = 0.035). Only 2 patients (3.3%) in the combination therapy group developed late ≥ grade 2 rectal hemorrhage. There were no significant differences between two groups in hematuria ≥ grade 2 (p = 0.068) or rectal hemorrhage ≥ grade 2 (p = 0.206).

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first report to compare the GU and gastrointestinal toxicities between the combination therapy and BT monotherapy (160 Gy) for localized prostate cancer. Unexpectedly, there were more late GU toxicities (except for hematuria) in the BT monotherapy group.

Permanent seed implant brachytherapy in low-risk prostate cancer: Preoperative planning with 145 Gy versus real-time intraoperative planning with 160 Gy

Aim

The present retrospective study was to compare toxicity and survival outcomes in a group of low-risk PCa patients treated with either the preoperative planning technique (145 Gy) or the real-time IoP technique (160 Gy).

Background

The two most common permanent seed implantation techniques are preoperative planning (PP) with 145 Gy and real-time intraoperative planning (IoP) with 160 Gy. Although IoP has largely replaced PP at many centres in recent years, few studies have directly compared these two techniques.

Materials and methods

Retrospective study of 408 patients with low-risk PCa treated with permanent seed implant brachytherapy at our institution between October 2003 and December 2014. Of these, 187 patients were treated with PP at a dose of 145 Gy while 221 received real-time IoP with 160 Gy.

Results

At a median follow up of 90 months, 5- and 8-year rates of biochemical relapse-free survival (BRFS) were 94.8% and 86% with the IoP technique versus 90.8% and 83.9%, respectively, with PP. The maximum dose to the urethra was <217 Gy with both techniques. Despite the higher dose, IoP did not cause any significant increase in toxicity (p = 0.11).

Conclusions

The present study shows that real-time intraoperative brachytherapy at a dose of 160 Gy yield better biochemical control than preoperative planning at 145 Gy. In addition, urinary toxicity did not increase, despite the dose escalation, probably because the dose constraints to the urethra were met despite the increased dose escalation. These findings support the use of real-time IoP.

Placement of an absorbable rectal hydrogel spacer in patients undergoing low-dose-rate brachytherapy with palladium-103

PURPOSE

Rates of rectal toxicity after low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy for prostate cancer are dependent on rectal dose, which is associated with rectal distance from prostate and implanted seeds. Placement of a hydrogel spacer between the prostate and rectum has proven to reduce the volume of the rectum exposed to higher radiation dose levels in the setting of external beam radiotherapy. We present our findings with placing a rectal hydrogel spacer in patients following LDR brachytherapy, and we further assess the impact of this placement on dosimetry and acute rectal toxicity.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Between January 2016 and April 2017, 74 patients had placement of a hydrogel spacer, immediately following a Pd-103 seed-implant procedure. Brachytherapy was delivered as follows: as a monotherapy to 26 (35%) patients; as part of planned combination therapy with external beam radiotherapy to 40 (54%) patients; or as a salvage monotherapy to eight (11%) patients. Postoperative MRI was used to assess separation achieved with rectal spacer. Acute toxicity was assessed retrospectively using Radiation Oncology Therapy Group radiation toxicity grading system. Rectal dosimetry was compared with a consecutive cohort of 136 patients treated with seed implantation at our institution without a spacer, using a 2-tailed paired Student's t test (p < 0.05 for statistical significance).

RESULTS

On average, 11.2-mm (SD 3.3) separation was achieved between the prostate and the rectum. The resultant mean rectal volume receiving 100% of prescribed dose (V_100%), dose to 1 cc of rectum (D_1cc), and dose to 2 cc of rectum (D_2cc) were 0 (SD 0.05 cc), 25.3% (SD 12.7), and 20.5% (SD 9.9), respectively. All rectal dosimetric parameters improved significantly for the cohort with spacer placement as compared with the nonspacer cohort. Mean prostate volume, prostate V₁₀₀ and dose to 90% of gland (D₉₀) were 29.3 cc (SD 12.4), 94.0% (SD 3.81), and 112.4% (SD 12.0), respectively. Urethral D₂₀, D_5cc, and D_1cc were 122.0% (SD 17.27), 133.8% (SD 22.8), and 144.0% (SD 25.4), respectively. After completing all treatments, at the time of first the followup, 7 patients reported acute rectal toxicity-6 experiencing Grade 1 rectal discomfort and 1 (with preexisting hemorrhoids) experiencing Grade 1 bleeding.

CONCLUSIONS

Injection of rectal spacer is feasible in the post-LDR brachytherapy setting and reduces dose to the rectum with minimal toxicity. Prostate and urethral dosimetries do not appear to be affected by the placement of a spacer. Further studies with long-term followup are warranted to assess the impact on reduction of late rectal toxicity.

Clinical outcomes of 125I brachytherapy with and without external-beam radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer: results from 300 patients at a single institution in Japan

The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes and adverse events for 300 men with prostate cancer treated with 125iodine (125I) brachytherapy with and without external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) at a single institution in Japan. Between February 2005 and November 2011, 300 consecutive patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with 125I brachytherapy at the Nagoya University Hospital. A total of 271 men were treated with implants with doses of 145 Gy, and 29 men were treated with implants with doses of 110 Gy combined with EBRT (40-50 Gy/20-25 fractions). The median patient age was 69 years (range, 53-83 years). The median follow-up period was 53 months (range, 5-99 months). According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk classification, 132 men (44%) had low-risk, 147 men (29%) had intermediate-risk and 21 men (7%) had high-risk disease. The 5-year overall survival rate, biochemical relapse-free survival rate, and disease-specific survival rates were 93.5%, 97.3% and 98.5%, respectively. Two men (0.6%) died of prostate cancer and 10 men (3.3%) died of other causes. Seventeen men (5.6%) experienced Grade 2 rectal bleeding in all: 12 (41.4%) of 29 in brachytherapy with EBRT, and 5 (1.8%) of 271 in brachytherapy alone. The rates of Grade 2 and 3 genitourinary toxicity were 1.0% and 1.7%, respectively. Excellent local control was achieved at our hospital for localized prostate cancer with 125I brachytherapy with and without EBRT. Gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities were acceptable.

The risk of second malignancies after 125I prostate brachytherapy as monotherapy in a single Australian institution

PURPOSE

To report the incidence of second primary cancer (SPC) after ¹²⁵I brachytherapy (BT) for early prostate cancer in an Australian institution.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

All the patients in our cohort had a cystoscopy before the implant. Data were prospectively collected on all subsequent SPC diagnoses. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated to compare data with the Australian population. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to determine the actuarial second malignancy and pelvic malignancy rates and the death from SPC and from any cause.

RESULTS

A total of 889 patients were followed up for a median of 4.16 (0-13) years with 370 (42%) patients having ≥5 years of followup. Sixty patients subsequently developed an SPC of which 11 were pelvic malignancies. The 5- and 10-year cumulative incidences were 1.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6-3) and 3.3% (95% CI: 1-7) for any pelvic malignancy and 1% (95% CI: 0.4-2) and 2.6% (1-6) for bladder cancer, respectively. The SIR was significantly higher than expected for all bladder cancers at 2.9 (95% CI: 1-6) and close to significance (SIR, 3.0; 95% CI: 0.97-7) for bladder cancers within the first 5 years of followup in the subgroup analysis. On multivariate analysis, older age was associated with increased SPC risk and older age and positive smoking status were associated with increased overall mortality, mortality due to SPC, and mortality from second malignancy (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

There may be a small increased risk of bladder SPC after prostate BT. A tendency toward a higher risk of bladder SPC after BT was found within the first 5 years of followup probably reflecting screening bias.

Low-dose-rate brachytherapy for patients with transurethral resection before implantation in prostate cancer. Longterm results

Objectives

We analyzed the long-term oncologic outcome for patients with prostate cancer and transurethral resection who were treated using low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy.

Methods and Materials

From January 2001 to December 2005, 57 consecutive patients were treated with clinically localized prostate cancer. No patients received external beam radiation. All of them underwent LDR prostate brachytherapy. Biochemical failure was defined according to the “Phoenix consensus”. Patients were stratified as low and intermediate risk based on The Memorial Sloan Kettering group definition.

Results

The median follow-up time for these 57 patients was 104 months. The overall survival according to Kaplan-Meier estimates was 88% (±6%) at 5 years and 77% (±6%) at 12 years. The 5 and 10 years for failure in tumour-free survival (TFS) was 96% and respectively (±2%), whereas for biochemical control was 94% and respectively (±3%) at 5 and 10 years, 98% (±1%) of patients being free of local recurrence. A patient reported incontinence after treatment (1.7%). The chronic genitourinary complains grade I were 7% and grade II, 10%. At six months 94% of patients reported no change in bowel function.

Conclusions

The excellent long-term results and low morbidity presented, as well as the many advantages of prostate brachytherapy over other treatments, demonstrates that brachytherapy is an effective treatment for patients with transurethral resection and clinical organ-confined prostate cancer.

Guidance on patient consultation. Current evidence for prostate-specific antigen screening in healthy men and treatment options for men with proven localised prostate cancer

The main objective of this review is to summarise, for primary and secondary care doctors, the management options and current supporting evidence for clinically localised prostate cancer. We review all aspects of management including current guidelines on early cancer detection and the importance of informed consent on PSA-based screening and assess the most common treatment options and the evidence for managing patients with low-, medium-, and high-risk disease.

Low-dose-rate brachytherapy for low-grade prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer is a radiosensitive type of cancer for which radiotherapy is used for both curative and palliative purposes. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy is an internal radiotherapy technique which allows high doses of radiation to be delivered to a tumour at short range and with a high degree of precision. We have conducted a systematic review of the evidence base for this treatment. The method is not established in Norway.

METHOD

This review is based on systematic review articles and publications on treatment, outcomes, adverse effects and health economics considerations found by searching the databases Cochrane Library, Current Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase and NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence).

RESULTS

Subsequent to long-term observations of the efficacy, adverse effects and costs presented in 43 selected studies, including one randomised, controlled trial, there is still uncertainty as to which of the three methods low-dose brachytherapy, external radiotherapy and radical prostatectomy is optimal. The reason for this is the methodological differences in patient selection and in endpoints such as biochemical disease-free interval and cause-specific survival. The evidence base appears to suggest that low-dose-rate brachytherapy causes more frequent grade 2 and 3 doctor-reported urogenital adverse effects than prostatectomy, but better patient-reported sexual functions and fewer patients with urinary incontinence than after surgery. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy appears to be socioeconomically cost-effective.

INTERPRETATION

The evidence base with respect to therapeutic effect and toxicity in men with low-risk prostate cancer treated with low-dose brachytherapy is regarded as solidly documented. However, there are no good prospective randomised multi-centre trials with overall survival as an endpoint.

Permanent seed brachytherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer: long-term outcomes in a 700 patient cohort

PURPOSE

Few large European studies have evaluated long-term outcomes for permanent prostate brachytherapy (PPB) as monotherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer. The objective of the present study was to evaluate long-term survival in this patient profile.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Retrospective study of 700 patients who underwent transperineal ultrasound-guided iodine-125 PPB (145 Gy) between January 2000 and July 2012. Median age was 64.8 years (range, 35-79). Most patients (638 of 700; 91%) had low-risk disease (D'Amico criteria). Eighty-five patients (12%) received hormonal treatment. Overall survival, cause-specific survival, and biochemical relapse-free survival were calculated and estimated using actuarial and Kaplan-Meier methods. Differences between groups were assessed using the log-rank test.

RESULTS

Median followup was 63 months (range, 6-164). At 5- and 10-year followup, respectively, overall survival was 94% (95% confidence interval [CI], 92-96) and 84% (95% CI, 78-90); cause-specific survival was 100% and 97% (95% CI, 95-99); and biochemical relapse-free survival was 95% (95% CI, 93-97) and 85% (95% CI, 79-91).

CONCLUSIONS

The long-term results presented in this report confirm previous studies and provide additional support for the use of PPB in patients with favorable-risk prostate cancer. Seed brachytherapy provides excellent long-term results in this patient profile.

125Iodine monotherapy for Japanese men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer: outcomes after 5 years of follow-up

Data from 305 Japanese men with low-risk (n = 175) or intermediate-risk (n = 130) prostate cancer who underwent (125)I monotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. Of the 305 patients, 93 received hormonal therapy for a median of 6 months (range, 1-33 months) before implantation. The prescribed dose to the prostate plus 3- to 5-mm margin was set at 145 Gy. The mean dose to 90% of the prostate volume at 1 month (D90) and the prostate volume receiving at least 100% dose at 1 month (V100) were 173.4 Gy and 95.8%, respectively. The median follow-up was 66 months (range, 12-94 months). The 5-year biochemical non-evidence of disease rate was 95.5% (low-risk, 94.2%; intermediate-risk, 97.3%). The 5-year freedom from clinical failure rate was 98.9% (low-risk, 98.9%; intermediate-risk, 99.2%).The initial prostate-specific antigen level was identified as a significant predictive factor for biochemical recurrence (P = 0.029). The late Grade 3 genitourinary toxicity rate was 2.0%. No patients displayed late gastrointestinal toxicity of Grade 3 or worse. Monotherapy with (125)I showed excellent outcomes with limited morbidity for Japanese men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer after 5 years of follow-up.

Inhibition of sphingosine kinase-2 ablates androgen resistant prostate cancer proliferation and survival

BACKGROUND

Endogenous sphingolipid signaling has been shown to play an important role in prostate cancer endocrine resistance.

METHODS

The novel SphK2 inhibitor, ABC294640, was used to explore SphK signaling in androgen resistant prostate cancer cell death signaling.

RESULTS

It dose-dependently decreased PC-3 and LNCaP cell viability, IC(50) of 28 ± 6.1 μM (p < 0.05) and 25 ± 4.0 μM (p < 0.05), respectively. ABC294640 was more potent in long-term clonogenic survival assays; IC(50) of 14 ± 0.4 μM (p < 0.05) in PC-3 cells and 12 ± 0.9 μM (p < 0.05) in LNCaP cells. Intrinsic apoptotic assays failed to demonstrate increased caspase-9 activity. Ki-67 staining demonstrated decreased proliferation by 50 ± 8.4% (p < 0.01) in PC-3 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

SphK2 inhibition decreases androgen resistant prostate cancer viability, survival, and proliferation independently of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Findings are in contrast to recent observations of ABC29460 acting dependently on the intrinsic pathway in other endocrine resistant cancer cell lines.

Biochemical outcomes for patients with intermediate risk prostate cancer treated with I-125 interstitial brachytherapy monotherapy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Routine use of I-125 interstitial brachytherapy (BT) alone in intermediate risk (IR) prostate cancer is controversial. It is often combined with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The biochemical outcome of a large cohort of only IR disease treated with BT monotherapy is reported.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 2003 and 2007, 615 patients with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) defined IR disease (one risk factor only-T2b, or Gleason score (GS) 7, or raised initial PSA (iPSA) 10.1-20ng/ml) were treated with BT monotherapy. ASTRO (3 consecutive rises) and Phoenix (nadir plus 2) criteria defined biochemical failure. Potential prognostic factors (pre- and post-implant dosimetric indices, GS 3+4 versus 4+3, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)) were analysed.

RESULTS

Median follow-up was 5.0years. Forty-three patients had stage T2b, 180 had raised iPSA, 392 had GS 7 disease. ADT was received by 108 patients. The 5-year biochemical no evidence of disease (bNED) rates are 87.3% (by ASTRO), 88.6% (by Phoenix). Stratification by risk factor (T2b, GS7, raised iPSA) demonstrated raised iPSA to have poorer outcome only by Phoenix criteria (p=0.0002). Other potential prognostic variables were non-significant.

CONCLUSION

Good rates of biochemical control can be achieved in the medium term with BT monotherapy in IR disease. Raised iPSA correlated with a poorer outcome.

Segmental dosimetry, toxicity and long-term outcome in patients with prostate cancer treated with permanent seed implants

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: The development of side effects characteristic for the different treatment methods with impact on the patients' quality of life plays a growing role for individual patients with early stage prostate cancer. Using permanent brachytherapy a high dose to the prostate can be applied with a steep dose gradient to the normal tissue. However, small partial volumes of normal tissue may be exposed to high doses inducing special side effects including lower urinary tract symptoms and/or erectile dysfunction. In the literature there are only few publications so far regarding segmental dosimetry and its influence on side effects and the results are conflicting. We could not identify any dosimetric parameter in segmental dosimetry that may have an influence at certain time intervals on the development of side effects such as lower urinary tract symptoms or erectile dysfunction. However, we could state clearly that the preoperative situation is the most important factor for postoperative outcome.

OBJECTIVE

To report on the side effects of patients with low to low-intermediate risk prostate cancer treated with permanent interstitial brachytherapy with special emphasis on segmental dosimetry.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A series of 186 consecutive patients treated for early stage prostate cancer receiving definitive I-125 brachytherapy (permanent seed implantation) between November 2001 and April 2005 at our institution were examined for the development of side effects. Morbidity was assessed prospectively using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) in a mean follow-up interval of 30 months. The scores were correlated with segmental dosimetry performed 6 weeks after the implantation.

RESULTS

The mean postoperative dose to 90% of the prostate volume (D90) was 180.2 Gy, the mean preoperative IPSS 7.2 and the mean IIEF-5 14.35, with all scores showing a maximum deterioration after 6 weeks with normalization after 24 months. After correlating the segmental dosimetry and the scores at different time intervals, only the baseline scores remained statistically significant in multivariate regression analysis at all time intervals (P < 0.00).

CONCLUSIONS

We could not demonstrate a correlation of segmental dosimetry with induction of side effects. There is no relationship between dose exposure of partial volumes and the development of radiation-induced toxicities. The preoperative situation regarding lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile function are the most important factors for postoperative outcome.

Low-dose rate brachytherapy for men with localized prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Localized prostate cancer is a slow growing tumor for many years for the majority of affected men. Low-dose rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) is short-distance radiotherapy using low-energy radioactive sources. LDR-BT has been recommended for men with low risk localized prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the benefit and harm of LDR-BT compared to radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), and no primary therapy (NPT) in men with localized prostatic cancer.

SEARCH STRATEGY

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (from 1950), and EMBASE (from 1980) were searched in June 2010 as well as online trials registers and reference lists of reviews.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomized, controlled trials comparing LDR-BT versus RP, EBRT, and NPT in men with clinically localized prostate cancer.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Data on study methods, participants, treatment regimens, observation period and outcomes were recorded by two reviewers independently.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified only one RCT (N = 200; mean follow up 68 months). This trial compared LDR-BT and RP. The risk of bias was deemed high. Primary outcomes (overall survival, cause-specific mortality, or metastatic-free survival) were not reported. Biochemical recurrence-free survival at 5 years follow up was not significantly different between LDR-BT (78/85 (91.8%)) and RP (81/89 (91.0%)); P = 0.875; relative risk 0.92 (95% CI: 0.35 to 2.42).For severe adverse events reported at 6 months follow up, results favored LDR-BT for urinary incontinence (LDR-BT 0/85 (0.0%) versus RP 16/89 (18.0%); P < 0.001; relative risk 0) and favored RP for urinary irritation (LDR-BT 68/85 (80.0%) versus RP 4/89 (4.5%); P < 0.001; relative risk 17.80, 95% CI 6.79 to 46.66). The occurrence of urinary stricture did not significantly differ between the treatment groups (LDR-BT 2/85 (2.4%) versus RP 6/89 (6.7%); P = 0.221; relative risk 0.35, 95% CI: 0.07 to 1.68). Long-term information was not available.We did not identify significant differences of mean scores between treatment groups for patient-reported outcomes function and bother as well as generic health-related quality of life.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Low-dose rate brachytherapy did not reduce biochemical recurrence-free survival versus radical prostatectomy at 5 years. For short-term severe adverse events, low-dose rate brachytherapy was significantly more favorable for urinary incontinence, but radical prostatectomy was significantly more favorable for urinary irritation. Evidence is based on one RCT with high risk of bias.