UPDATE - Issue 10 - January 2002
Does brachytherapy provide patient benefits when used as part of a radiotherapy regime?
Trial report
The technique of brachytherapy in which radioactive sources are introduced directly into the organ to be treated is now well established but has yet to be subjected to critical appraisal in the UK.
The reason for believing that brachytherapy might be superior to conventional radiotherapy is to do with the dosage of radiation that can be delivered safely. It is known that the higher the dose given, the better the long term chances of survival. Unfortunately the dose which can be given without triggering unacceptable side effects has to be limited. With brachytherapy a higher dosage should be deliverable to the cancer without initiating these unpleasant side effects.
A trial is under way at Mount Vernon Hospital in Middlesex under Dr Peter Hopkins. Patients with localised prostate cancer, who have consented to be in the trial, are randomly put into two groups. The control group receive a five week course of conventional radiotherapy as out patients. They can rest assured that what they receive is currently believed to be the best available treatment. Those selected for brachytherapy, receive a two and a half week course of radiotherapy plus a high dose rate brachytherapy delivered over two days with a one night stay in hospital. They can be pleased that they are in the part of the trial which should confirm that brachytherapy is significantly better than the current best practice.
There are currently over eighty taking part in the trial. To establish the results with the necessary level of confidence over 200 patients need to be enrolled over a three year period. The follow up is straight forward involving three monthly check ups and tests and the completion of a quality of life questionnaire. Because the trial is looking at long term side effects it will be some time before the results can be written up.
We wish Peter Hopkins and his team well with the trial whose results should benefit both the medical fraternity and future patients.