This blog outlines the advantages of going with LDR Prostate Brachytherapy for treatment of localized prostate cancer compared to the other available treatment options.
1. LDR Prostate Brachytherapy has excellent clinical outcomes for a variety of patients with different types of prostate cancer. For instance, LDR Brachytherapy alone for patients with low or intermediate risk prostate cancer has very high cure rates along with minimal side effects.The combination of LDR prostate brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy has shown superior outcomes compared to external beam radiation therapy alone or surgery for men with high or very high prostate cancer. LDR Brachytherapy is an ideal treatment option for men with who have failed external beam therapy with disease localized to the prostate.
2. There is minimal downtime with this procedure. LDR Prostate Brachytherapy is a one time treatment performed in less than hour and patients go home the same day. I recommend taking it easy for the next few days following the procedure, but many men often go back to work during the same week. This is a big difference compared to other treatment options for localized prostate cancer where the downtime with surgery is much longer and the time commitment involved with external beam radiation therapy can be up to two months.
3. LDR Prostate Brachytherapy has the highest erectile function preservation rate compared to surgery or external beam radiation therapy. For many men, maintaining potency can be the biggest concern for proceeding with an active prostate cancer treatment. Based on the literature, LDR Prostate Brachytherapy has over 75% effectiveness in maintaining erectile function following treatment. Since LDR Prostate Brachytherapy is the most conformal radiation treatment for prostate cancer, this allows for the minimal exposure to the critical structures (such as the nerves and blood vessels) that results in this high erectile function preservation rate. There are also medical therapies that can be taken during radiation therapy to help further preserve erectile function.
