UPDATE - Issue 02 - January 1999
Increasing availability of radioactive seed therapy
The Cookridge Hospital in Leeds was the first in the UK to offer brachytherapy as a treatment for prostate cancers which have not spread outside the gland itself. The procedure, as pioneered in Seattle, involves the insertion of small pellets of radioactive material into the prostate gland where the radioactivity burns away the cancerous tissue. It was described briefly in our first issue in the article about Andy Groves of Intel.
Its acceptance is clearly on the increase, which is not surprising as it exhibits fewer side effects than either radical surgery or conventional external beam radiotherapy. Its long term results are less clearly established, as it is a newer procedure, but indications are that its effectiveness is comparable to the best figures achieved with the other two treatments.
Kings College Hospital in London was the second to offer brachytherapy starting to do so last October. Other Hospitals who will be offering a service in the near future include the Royal Surrey - Guildford, Christie Hospital - Manchester, the Middlesex, the Central Paddington, the Western General - Glasgow, Clatterbridge - Liverpool/ Wirral and Mount Vernon in Northwood, Middlesex.