Role of Brachytherapy in Patients with Stage T_ic, T_2aAdenocarcinoma of the Prostate

The precise role of brachytherapy in treating patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate remains unclear, Recent literature suggests that the long-term disease-free survival of patients with well-differentiated and localized tumors who receive brachytherapy is comparable to that of patients with similar tumors who are treated with radical prostatectomy or external-beam radiation. Advances in imaging technology, treatment planning software, and delivery apparatus have resulted in a technique that is accurate and reproducible. We explore the development of contemporary brachytherapy and examine the current published data relating to its emergence as a medically successful, cost-effective, and low-morbidity therapeutic modality for patients with stage T-1c, T-2a prostate cancer.