:format(jpg)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/larazon/SBEGVKVVIZDVHOIWVMWWAM5ZPI.jpg "“In prostate cancer, high-rate brachytherapy avoids toxicity of healthy tissue”")
1. What is high-rate brachytherapy?
High dose rate brachytherapy is one of two types of temporary brachytherapy. It is a radiotherapy treatment for cancer that involves placing radioactive material directly into the body, in or near the tumor, for a specific time, and then removing it so that no radioactive material remains in the body. In high dose rate brachytherapy, a high amount of radiation is delivered to the tumor in a short session, lasting only a few minutes. Because the radioactive source is placed directly into the tumor, nearby healthy tissue receives a lower dose of radiation, which means it is less likely to be damaged compared to other types of radiation therapy. This treatment can be repeated several times a day or several times for one or more weeks, depending on the type of cancer to be treated.
2. And what is the difference from low-rate brachytherapy?
Low dose rate brachytherapy involves the placement of a radioactive material within the body, in or near the tumor (radioactive seeds, in the case of prostate cancer). Unlike high rate brachytherapy, this material remains inside the body for life and emits a low and constant dose of radiation until it loses its activity in around three months in the case of Iodine-125 seeds.
3. Since when has this option been used?
It is a technique that has been used in the treatment of prostate cancer since the 1980s, but which has been reaching its maximum development in terms of technology and better oncological results during the last ten years.
4. Is it used only in prostate cancer or also in other carcinomas?
With this technique it is possible to treat tumors of the head and neck, skin, breast, esophagus, lung, cervix and, in our case, especially in prostate cancer.
5. What requirements must the patient meet to choose this alternative?
In the case of prostate cancer, it would be indicated in low-risk tumors, in which it can be treated with a minimum of two sessions. In the more advanced stages, it would be indicated in combination with external radiotherapy, giving a session of high dose rate brachytherapy, followed by 15 sessions of external radiotherapy.
6. What are the advantages of this technique over low-rate brachytherapy or “conventional” radiotherapy?
Among its benefits, compared to external radiotherapy or low dose rate brachytherapy, the following stand out: the significant reduction in total days of treatment, reducing visits to the Radiotherapy service; It is performed as a Day Hospital procedure, so the patient goes home the same day as his treatment session; that allows the best conformation of the dose, with which the tissues near the tumor receive less radiation, which implies less risk of side effects, and, in addition, that in combination with external radiotherapy, allows to maximize the dose in the tumor, thus achieving a better response to treatment and higher cure rates.
7. What success rates does this new procedure bring?
Various studies and series have reported biochemical progression-free survival rates of up to 85-100% in low-risk tumors and up to 79-92% in high-risk tumors, with metastasis-free survival rates greater than 95% at eight years and an overall survival greater than or equal to 95%, according to the latest research.
8. What are the side effects that this high dose rate brachytherapy can cause?
The possible side effects that we can find in the treatment of prostate tumors can be: difficulty in starting to urinate; urgent need to urinate; pain or discomfort when urinating; need to urinate at night or the appearance of blood in the urine.
9. Is its use still pioneering in our country?
More and more services are incorporating the technique into their treatment options due to the safety, comfort and control of the disease it provides. This option continues to be consolidated as a combined technique with external radiotherapy, as well as in monotherapy, in this case being at least two treatment sessions.
10. Are you planning to expand its use in other hospitals?
We have begun to perform treatments with this technique at the Jiménez Díaz Foundation in Madrid and the necessary equipment and software have also been acquired to perform it at the Rey Juan Carlos de Móstoles University Hospital (where it is planned to begin treating the first patients in brief), as well as at the Infanta Elena y el General de Villalba University Hospital. And it is also carried out in other Quirónsalud centers, in Torrevieja and Barcelona.
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