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Benefits of Cesium-131
Prostate Cancer Treatment with Cesium-131 Brachytherapy Seeds

Not all seed brachytherapy radioisotopes are the same. You and your doctor should choose the best isotope for your cancer treatment. Ask your doctor about Cesium-131.

Advantages of Cesium-131 Brachytherapy Seeds¹ for Prostate Cancer Treatment

Table of Cesium 131 Advantages over other Prostate Cancer isotopes

Higher Energy

Cs-131 has a higher average energy than any other commonly used prostate cancer brachytherapy isotope on the market. Energy is a key factor in how uniformly the radiation dose can be delivered throughout the prostate. This quality of a prostate implant is known as homogeneity. Early studies demonstrate Cs-131 implants are able to deliver the required dose while maintaining homogeneity across the prostate gland itself and potentially reducing unnecessary dose to critical structures such as the urethra and rectum. (Prestidge B.R., Bice W.S., Jurkovic I., et al. Cesium-131 Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy: An Initial Report. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2005: 63 (1) 5336-5337.)


Shorter Half-Life

Cs-131 has the shortest half-life of any commonly used prostate cancer brachytherapy isotope at 9.7 days.  Cs-131 delivers 90% of the prescribed dose to the prostate gland in just 33 days compared to 58 days for Pd-103 and 204 days for I-125. By far the most commonly reported side effects of prostate cancer brachytherapy are irritative and obstructive symptoms in the acute phase post-implant (Neill B, et al. The Nature and Extent of Urinary Morbidity in Relation to Prostate Brachytherapy Urethral Dosimetry. Brachytherapy 2007:6(3)173-9.).  The short half-life of Cs-131 reduces the duration of time during which the patient experiences the irritating effects of the radiation. 


Improved Coverage of the Prostate

Permanent prostate cancer brachytherapy utilizing Cs-131 seeds allows for better dose homogeneity and sparing of the urethra and rectum while providing comparable prostate coverage compared to I-125 or Pd-103 seeds with comparable or fewer seeds and needles. Several studies have demonstrated dosimetric advantages of Cs-131 over the other commonly used prostate cancer brachytherapy isotopes: (Musmacher JS, et al. Dosimetric Comparison of Cesium-131 and Palladium-103 for Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2007:69(3)S730-1.) (Yaparpalvi R, et al. Is Cs-131 or I-125 or Pd-103 the “Ideal” Isotope for Prostate Boost Brachytherapy? A Dosimetric View Point. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2007:69(3)S677-8) (Sutlief S, et al. Cs-131 Prostate Brachytherapy and Treatment Plan Parameters. Medical Physics 2007:34(6)2431.) (Yang R, et al. Dosimetric Comparison of Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy Plans Utilizing Cs-131, I-125 and Pd-103 Seeds. Medical Physics 2008:35(6)2734.)


Rapid Resolution of Side effects

Studies demonstrate that objective measures of common prostate side-effects showed an early peak in symptoms in the 2-week to 1-month time frame. Resolution of morbidity resolved rapidly within 4-6 months. (Prestidge B, et. al. Clinical Outcomes of a Phase-II, Multi-institutional Cesium-131 Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy Trial. Brachytherapy. 2007: 6 (2)78.) (Moran B, et al. Cesium-131 Prostate Brachytherapy: An Early Experience. Brachytherapy 2007:6(2)80.) (Jones A, et al. IPSS Trends for Cs-131 Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy. Brachytherapy 2008:7(2)194.) (DeFoe SG, et al. Is There Decreased Duration of Acute Urinary and Bowel Symptoms after Prostate Brachytherapy with Cesium 131 Radioisotope? Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2008:72(S1)S317.)

Average IPSS Score Post Brachytherapy

More stringent studies are underway to more fully characterize any advantage in side effect resolution experienced by patients undergoing Cs-131 prostate cancer brachytherapy versus brachytherapy with other isotopes.


Higher Biologically Effective Dose

Another benefit to the short half-life of Cs-131 is what is known as the “biological effective dose” or BED. BED is a way for health care providers to predict how an isotope will perform against cancers exhibiting different characteristics – for instance, slow versus fast growing tumors. Studies have shown Cs-131 is able to deliver a higher BED across a wide range of tumor types than either I-125 or Pd-103. Although prostate cancer is typically viewed as a slow growing cancer it can present with aggressive features. Cs-131’s higher BED may be particularly beneficial in such situations. (Armpilia CI, Dale RG, Coles IP et al. The Determination of Radiobiologically Optimized Half-lives for Radionuclides Used in Permanent Brachytherapy Implants. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2003; 55 (2): 378-385.)

PSA Control

Investigators tracking PSA in both single arm and randomized prostate cancer treatment trials have concluded Cs-131’s PSA response rates show similar early tumor control to I-125, long considered the gold standard in permanent seed brachytherapy. Longitudinal PSA measurements from ongoing Cs131 clinical series demonstrate trends very similar to those seen with other isotopes. (Moran B, et. al. Cesium-131 Prostate Brachytherapy” An Early Experience. Brachytherapy. 2007:6(2)80.) (Bice W, et. al. Recommendations for permanent prostate brachytherapy with 131Cs: a consensus report from the Cesium Advisory Group. Brachytherapy 2008:7(4)290-296.) (Platta CS, et al. Early Outcomes of Prostate Seed Implants with 131Cs: Toxicity and Initial PSA Dynamics from a Single Institution. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2008:72(S1)S323-4.)

Mean and Median PSA