Low-dose rate brachytherapy for patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.1482Keywords:
external beam radiation therapy, low-dose rate brachytherapy, prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy, systematic reviewAbstract
Introduction: We review the current evidence for the role of low-dose rate brachytherapy (PB) in patients with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer using a systematic review of the literature.
Methods: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE (from January 1996to October 2011), the Cochrane Library, relevant guideline websites, and websites for meetings specific for genitourinary diseases.
Results: Ten systematic reviews and 55 single-study papers met the pre-planned study selection criteria. In the end, 36 articles were abstracted and analyzed for this systematic review. There is no evidence for a difference in efficacy between PB and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), or between PB and radical prostatectomy (RP). During the 6 months to 3 years after treatment, PB was associated with less urinary incontinence and sexual impotency than RP, and RP was associated with less urinary irritation and rectal morbidity than PB. However, these differences diminished overtime. PB conferred less risk of impotency and rectal morbidity in the 3 years after treatment than EBRT. Iodine-125 and alladium-103 did not differ with respect to biochemical relapse-free survival and patient-reported outcomes.
Conclusions: PB alone is a treatment option with equal efficacyto EBRT or RP alone in patients with newly diagnosed low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer who require or choose active treatment.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
You, the Author(s), assign your copyright in and to the Article to the Canadian Urological Association. This means that you may not, without the prior written permission of the CUA:
- Post the Article on any Web site
- Translate or authorize a translation of the Article
- Copy or otherwise reproduce the Article, in any format, beyond what is permitted under Canadian copyright law, or authorize others to do so
- Copy or otherwise reproduce portions of the Article, including tables and figures, beyond what is permitted under Canadian copyright law, or authorize others to do so.
The CUA encourages use for non-commercial educational purposes and will not unreasonably deny any such permission request.
You retain your moral rights in and to the Article. This means that the CUA may not assert its copyright in such a way that would negatively reflect on your reputation or your right to be associated with the Article.
The CUA also requires you to warrant the following:
- That you are the Author(s) and sole owner(s), that the Article is original and unpublished and that you have not previously assigned copyright or granted a licence to any other third party;
- That all individuals who have made a substantive contribution to the article are acknowledged;
- That the Article does not infringe any proprietary right of any third party and that you have received the permissions necessary to include the work of others in the Article; and
- That the Article does not libel or violate the privacy rights of any third party.
