Long-Term Efficacy and Toxicity of Low-Dose-Rate ¹²⁵I Prostate Brachytherapy as Monotherapy in Low-, Intermediate-, and High-Risk Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To report long-term efficacy and toxicity for a single-institution cohort of patients treated with low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy permanent implant (PI) monotherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

From 1996 to 2007, 1989 patients with low-risk (61.3%), intermediate-risk (29.8%), high-intermediate-risk (4.5%), and high-risk prostate cancer (4.4%) were treated with PI and followed up prospectively in a registry. All patients were treated with (125)I monotherapy to 144 Gy. Late toxicity was coded retrospectively according to a modified Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events 4.0 scale. The rates of biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), overall survival (OS), and prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) were calculated. We identified factors associated with late grade ≥3 genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity, bRFS, DMFS, OS, PCSM, and incontinence.

RESULTS

The median age of the patients was 67 years, and the median overall and prostate-specific antigen follow-up times were 6.8 years and 5.8 years, respectively. The overall 5-year rates for bRFS, DMFS, OS, and PCSM were 91.9%, 97.8%, 93.7%, and 0.71%, respectively. The 10-year rates were 81.5%, 91.5%, 76.1%, and 2.5%, respectively. The overall rates of late grade ≥3 GU and GI toxicity were 7.6% and 0.8%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, age and prostate length were significantly associated with increased risk of late grade ≥3 GU toxicity. The risk of incontinence was highly correlated with both pre-PI and post-PI transurethral resection of the prostate.

CONCLUSIONS

Prostate brachytherapy as monotherapy is an effective treatment for low-risk and low-intermediate-risk prostate cancer and appears promising as a treatment for high-intermediate-risk and high-risk prostate cancer. Significant long-term toxicities are rare when brachytherapy is performed as monotherapy.