Brachytherapy May Be Best Prostate Cancer Treatment
Choice for Obese Men
Follows finding that surgery is technically more
challenging in overweight men
Seed implants, also called brachytherapy,
are small radioactive pellets, each about the size of a grain of
rice. The seeds are inserted into the prostate through small
needles during a brief outpatient procedure.
Aug. 19, 2008 - A recent study found that obese men
with prostate cancer have less successful surgical treatment than normal
weight men, because the surgery is technically more challenging in obese
men. A study released today, says brachytherapy, also called seed
implants, may be a better treatment choice than surgery or external
beam radiation for these overweight patients.
The new study is published in the August issue of
the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the
official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and
Oncology.
Brachytherapy may be the preferable treatment for
obese men with early-stage prostate cancer, Anthony Zietman, M.D., one
of the authors of the study and a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston, said.
Being overweight does not present any unique
technical challenges for brachytherapy as it does for surgery and
external beam.
The earlier study showed that obese men have a
higher chance cancer is left behind after surgery. This suggests that
prostate cancer surgery is technically more challenging in obese men,
making complete tumor removal harder, according to Jayakrishnan
Jayachandran, M.D., a urological oncology fellow at Duke University and
lead investigator on the study. (See link in sidebar on left)
Prostate Cancer
The prostate is the gland below a man's
bladder that produces fluid for semen. Prostate cancer is the
third most common cause of death from cancer in men of all ages.
It is rare in men younger than 40.
Levels of a substance called prostate
specific antigen (PSA) is often high in men with prostate
cancer. However, PSA can also be high with other
prostate conditions. Since the PSA test became common, most
prostate cancers are found before they cause symptoms. Symptoms
of prostate cancer may include
>> Problems passing urine, such as pain,
difficulty starting or stopping the stream, or dribbling
>> Low back pain
>> Pain with ejaculation
Prostate cancer treatment often depends
on the stage of the cancer. How fast the cancer grows and how
different it is from surrounding tissue helps determine the
stage. Treatment may include surgery, radiation therapy,
chemotherapy or control of hormones that affect the cancer.
There has also been some evidence published
suggesting that men with a high body mass index have a greater
likelihood of PSA failure after some prostate cancer treatments than
normal-weight men.
This has been specifically shown for overweight or
obese men who undergo surgery (radical prostatectomy) or external beam
radiation therapy, according to the latest study.
The exact cause for this is unknown but it is
suspected that higher BMI can been associated with more aggressive
cancers, as well as with more technical difficulties during treatments.
Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital
departments of radiation oncology and urology and the Boston Medical
Center Department of Radiation Oncology, both in Boston, sought to
determine if the same problems were seen in overweight and obese men
treated with brachytherapy.
The study analyzed 374 prostate cancer patients who
were treated with brachytherapy from 1996 to 2001, and researchers found
that the six-year PSA failure rate for men who were overweight or obese
was no higher than for those of normal weight.
Information source:
The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and
Oncology, Inc. -
www.astro.org
For more information on prostate cancer treatments,
visit ASTROs patient information Web site at
www.rtanswers.org.
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in
the world, with more than 9,500 members who specialize in treating
patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in
radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to
improving patient care through education, clinical practice, advancement
of science and advocacy.
Links to more SeniorJournal.com reports on
Prostate Cancer:
