The prognostic significance of Gleason pattern 5 in prostate cancer patients treated with Pd-103 brachytherapy.

Objective: To determine the effect of high-grade prostate cancer (Gleason pattern 5) on the prognosis of patients treated with Pd-103 brachytherapy.

Methods: A total of 499 higher-risk patients [Gleason score 7 or higher or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 10-20 ng/mL] treated on a prospective protocol with Pd-103 and supplemental external beam radiation were studied. All prostate biopsies were reviewed for Gleason grade by 2 pathologists (L.

Treatment of prostate cancer in obese patients.

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Obesity is now linked with numerous health conditions, including many oncologic diagnoses. Its association with prostate cancer, the most prevalent cancer in men, has also been investigated, with studies suggesting a direct relationship between increasing obesity and prostate cancer mortality.

I-125 versus Pd-103 for low-risk prostate cancer: long-term morbidity outcomes from a prospective randomized multicenter controlled trial.

Background: We tested the hypothesis that the shorter half-life of Pd-103 versus I-125 results in different late radiation-related morbidities following prostate brachytherapy.

Methods: As of June 14th, 2002, 352 of a planned total of 600 patients with 1997 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical stage T1c-T2a prostatic carcinoma (Gleason grade 2-6, PSA 4-10 ng/mL) had been randomized to implantation with I-125 (144 Gy, TG-43) or Pd-103 (125 Gy, NIST-99). Treatment-related morbidity was monitored by questionnaires based on standard American Urologic Association (AUA) and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) criteria that were mailed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after implant.