The Clinical experience:  See our patient experience video at Proxcelan.com.

Brachytherapy with Cesium-131 is a minimally invasive procedure with shorter recovery times than surgery, shorter treatment times than IMRT or External Beam therapy and equal cure rates for early stage prostate cancer. With Proxcelan Cesium-131 seeds patients reported mild to moderate urinary symptoms that resolved rapidly within 4-6 months compared to 12 months with Iodine-125. To date there are no failures by the nadir + 2ng/ml definition, with PSA data from the monotherapy trial showing very positive PSA response to treatment over the first 12 months. ^{1, 2}

“Both surgery and radiation offer excellent and equal cure rates for early stage prostate cancer. Patients need to compare the actual procedures, recovery times and corresponding long and short term side effects as they can have a significant effect on their quality of life.” – S. Kurtzman M.D., Radiation Oncologist, Mills Peninsula Hospital

Advantages of Cesium-131 Brachytherapy Seeds ³

Higher Energy

Cesium-131 has a higher average energy than any other commonly used prostate brachytherapy isotope on the market. Energy is a key factor in how uniformly the radiation dose can be delivered throughout the prostate. This is known as homogeneity. Early studies demonstrate Cesium-131 implants are able to deliver the required dose while maintaining good homogeneity across the gland itself and potentially reducing unnecessary dose to critical structures such as the urethra and rectum.

Shorter Half-Life

Cesium-131 has the shortest half-life of any prostate brachytherapy isotope at 9.7 days. Cesium-131 delivers 90% of the prescribed dose to the prostate in just 33 days compared to 58 days for Palladium and 204 days for Iodine-125. The short half-life of Cs-131 reduces the duration of time during which the prostate receives the irritating effects of the radiation. Early studies demonstrate Cesium-131 is well tolerated with minimal to moderate urinary symptoms that resolve relatively rapidly, within approximately 4-8 weeks.

Higher Biologically Effective Dose

Another benefit to the short half-life of Cesium-131 is what is known as the "biological effective dose" or BED. BED is a way for providers to predict how an isotope will perform against slow versus fast growing tumors. Studies have shown Cesium-131 is able to deliver a higher BED across a wide range of tumor types than either Iodine-125 or Palladium-103. Although prostate cancer is typically viewed as a slow growing cancer it can present with aggressive features. Cesium-131's higher BED may be particularly beneficial in such situations. ⁴