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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Men with early stage prostate cancer are sometimes given their choice of treatments: surgery or radiation seed implants.
New research out of France suggests radiation seed implants, also known as brachytherapy, cause fewer unwanted side effects, including less impairment of sexual functioning over the long term.
The authors explain both forms of treatment are considered effective for men with early stage disease and are in widespread use. Men who undergo surgery have their prostate removed, while men undergoing brachytherapy have small radiation seeds, about the size of a grain of rice, implanted in their prostate to kill the cancerous cells.
This study compared outcomes over both the short and longer term in 435 men who had one of the two treatments. Those undergoing surgery had significantly more problems immediately following the operation, but those problems improved over the two year follow up. Brachytherapy resulted in moderate side effects that persisted throughout the study.
Among the men who had the surgery, urinary incontinence was more common, while men who had brachytherapy were more likely to report urinary irritation. Impotence was reported significantly more often by the men who had their prostates removed.
"This study is exciting because it's the first time we have a comparative study to ... see if the side effects are different for patients who received surgery or brachytherapy," writes study author Jean-Marc Cosset, M.D., from the department of radiation oncology at the Institut Curie in Paris. "By looking at these factors, we are better able to tailor a suitable treatment option for the individual patient."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, published online Feb. 28, 2007
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