"The results offer physicians some simple and inexpensive pretreatment testing that helps identify patients who would be at increased risk for developing urinary complications," says Michael Wehle, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic Department of Urology, and the primary author of the study.
Of the 105 men studied at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., 59 (56 percent) were categorized by researchers as being in the high-risk category and 46 (44 percent) were categorized as low risk for urinary tract difficulties after the therapy. Using this criteria, 37 percent of the high-risk patients developed some urinary difficulties. Eighty-five percent of the low-risk patients did not have difficulties after the therapy.
Researchers expect men with these problems to have a greater risk of experiencing urinary problems after the procedure.
The purpose of the study was to better define who is and who isn't a good candidate for brachytherapy. Brachytherapy involves placing radioactive seeds in or near the tumor, to deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumor while reducing the radiation exposure in the surrounding healthy tissues. This may be done surgically or through other means, such as using a needle. Researchers studied records of patients who received radioactive seeds implanted for prostate cancer.
"In general, most brachytherapy patients do very well, but a few can have significant problems," said Dr. Wehle.
Difficulties can include urine retention, the need to use a catheter to urinate, frequent urination and pain when urinating. Researchers assessed conditions such as severity of symptoms, urinary flo
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Contact: John Murphy
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
9-Mar-2004