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This section of the website is designed for GPs to provide an update on the developments in Brachytherapy for localised prostate cancer and what this means for GPs and their patients.
The influential role of GPs and brachytherapy in prostate cancer care
The article discusses how LDR monotherapy is an excellent alternative to surgery in patients with low and favourable intermediate risk PC (Durable PSA, RFS and Low toxicity), and looks at the critical role GPs play in ensuring patients have access to a range of treatment options when diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.
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O que é a braquiterapia LDR?
Low-dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy is a type of internal radiation therapy that delivers radiation at a low-dose rate from implants placed permanently in the prostate.
Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy, or radiation treatment. Radiotherapy uses gamma- or x-rays to treat cancer. The radiation involved is much stronger than that used for an ordinary x-ray picture. There are two types of brachytherapy – high dose-rate (HDR) and low dose-rate (LDR). LDR brachytherapy is the type that is most commonly used to treat prostate cancer; it may sometimes be referred to as ‘seed implantation’.
Click here to find out more about brachytherapy including; clinics, treatment process, possible side effects, aftercare and recovery process.
Treatment information
LDR brachytherapy uses radioactive seeds bound together in short rows and permanently implants them into the prostate. These pellets emit low levels of radiation for several weeks. When this radiation treatment ends, the harmless seeds are left in place permanently.
Primarily used to treat prostate cancer, LDR brachytherapy is a one-time procedure. The procedure itself generally takes about an hour.
Brachytherapy offers a quicker, more effective type of radiation treatment for some patients. Depending on the type and stage of cancer, brachytherapy may be combined with other treatments, which can vary treatment times.