Brachytherapy: Patients who are disease free at 5 years unlikely to recur at 10

Prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy and remain free of disease for 5 years are unlikely to have a recurrence at 10 years, according a new study by researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York.

Researchers followed 742 prostate cancer patients who were treated with brachytherapy alone, brachytherapy and hormonal therapy, or combined brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) between 1991 and 2002. None of the patients had recurred during their first 5 years after treatment.

The PSA level taken at 5 years was an indicator of how well a patient would do in the future, and the overall chance of being cancer free at 10 years was 97%, the authors reported. Also, none of the study participants developed metastatic disease or died from prostate cancer.

"Our data have indicated that improvements in treatment are continuing and that these will continue to have an effect on prostate brachytherapy data for years to come," said lead author Richard Stock, MD, of Mount Sinai Medical Center. "Late failure rates will continue to decrease, making prostate brachytherapy alone and combined with hormonal therapy and/or EBRT an increasingly attractive treatment option."

Results of the study were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics (2009; 74:753-8).