Thursday, December 15, 2011

Prostate Problems - Brachytherapy For Prostate Cancer

The principle of treating cancer with radiation is that radiation is a devastating effect on living cells. In this case, the radiation is used for medicinal purposes only focus.

There are two types of radiation therapy for prostate cancer: this outward radiation radiation and brachytherapy.

Cancer Treatments

Teletherapy

The most common type of radiation therapy in cancer, including prostate cancer, is teletherapy. In order to irradiation of prostate tumor was targeted before treatment is carried out to identify the desired area using computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Currently, there are special programs that allow you to create three-dimensional "picture" of the tumor and direct rays of radiation directly to tumors.

Intensive modulated radiation therapy allows the physician to modulate, ie, modify the intensity of the radiation dose to deliver the greatest number of the tumor and reduce the dose of radiation that affects the surrounding healthy tissue (the bladder and rectum). In some medical centers frequently used proton radiation, which allows the doctor to better modulate the effect of radiation, however, this type of treatment has not been fully understood and is under clinical trials. The advantage of this type of radiotherapy is that radiation is directed at the pathological focus, without affecting or minimally affecting the surrounding tissues and organs.

Regardless of the type used distant radiation therapy, radiation exposure is carried out within 5 days a week, and the course of radiation therapy lasts 7 - 8 weeks. Typically, radiation therapy is conducted on an outpatient basis, that is, a patient comes to irradiation and again after it goes home.

Brachytherapy

Among the main advantages of remote radiation therapy can be noted better than prostatectomy, portability, lower risk of developing complications such as Impotence and incontinence, as well as the possibility of outpatient treatment.

At the same time, with this form of radiation therapy may be affected adjacent to the prostate tissues and organs: the bladder and rectum, which is manifested and rectal radiation cystitis (inflammation of the bladder and rectal mucosa), as well as ray ulcers. Length of remote radiation therapy reaches 7 - 8 weeks to reduce damage to healthy tissue.

With this in mind, oncologists try to develop a radically new method of radiation therapy, which have impacted directly on the cancer and thus minimally affected (or possibly does not affect) the neighboring tissues and organs. In the early 20 th century were used for this particular grain, made from the radioactive metal (radium, gold).

In the 80 years of the last century has developed a new technique which allowed to establish a prostate tumor radioactive material - was used for the transrectal access (ie, through the rectum) and carried out this technique under ultrasound.

Thus, the principle of brachytherapy is that radiation affects the tumor is not outside, that is, she does not need to pass through the thick of all the surrounding healthy tissue, and inside the tumor itself.

Today, for being the introduction of brachytherapy seeds of radioactive iodine-125 using special needles. Once the grains are introduced into the prostate of the radioactive substance, needles are removed and the grains remain in the prostate. The half-life of radioactive iodine-125 is 60 days. Due to the fact that radiation is delivered directly into the prostate tissue, it can significantly reduce the dose of radiation, which helps to avoid unnecessary exposure of neighboring organs and tissues.

What explains the success of brachytherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer?

First, the 10-year survival of patients after brachytherapy is almost 80%. On the effectiveness of brachytherapy comparable with radical prostatectomy. However, the number of complications, it has advantages over the operation: for example, such complications as urinary incontinence after brachytherapy does not develop more than 4%, and impotence - no more than 15%.

Another important advantage of brachytherapy is that after this procedure, the patient is discharged from the hospital on the same or next day and returned to normal within a few days.

How is brachytherapy

The procedure for the introduction of radioactive seeds into the prostate takes about 1 hour. The entire procedure is conducted under the supervision of TRUS - transrectal ultrasound, when the ultrasound transducer device is introduced into the rectum. Radioactive seeds (usually 60 - 90) are introduced into the prostate using the special needle through the skin of the perineum. After the procedure, the bladder catheter, which is removed the next day. Then the patient is discharged home.

Prostate Problems - Brachytherapy For Prostate Cancer

Cancer Treatments

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