, a tool making use of traveling salesperson problem solvers in the efficient and accurate construction of high-density genetic linkage maps.

Background: Recent advances in nucleic acid sequencing technologies have led to a dramatic increase in the number of markers available to generate genetic linkage maps. This increased marker density can be used to improve genome assemblies as well as add much needed resolution for loci controlling variation in ecologically and agriculturally important traits. However, traditional genetic map construction methods from these large marker datasets can be computationally prohibitive and highly error prone.

Erectile dysfunction is predictive of all-cause mortality in patients with prostate cancer treated with permanent interstitial brachytherapy.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between pre-treatment erectile function and all-cause mortality in patients with prostate cancer treated with brachytherapy.

Patients And Methods: In all, 1279 consecutive patients with clinically localized prostate cancer and pre-implant erectile function assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function-6 (IIEF-6) underwent brachytherapy. Potency was defined as an IIEF-6 score of ≥13 without pharmacological or mechanical support.

Serum testosterone kinetics after brachytherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate temporal changes in testosterone after prostate brachytherapy and investigate the potential impact of these changes on response to treatment.

Methods And Materials: Between January 2008 and March 2009, 221 consecutive patients underwent Pd-103 brachytherapy without androgen deprivation for clinically localized prostate cancer. Prebrachytherapy prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and serum testosterone were obtained for each patient.

The incidence of transition zone prostate cancer diagnosed by transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy: implications for treatment planning.

Objectives: To report the incidence of transition zone (TZ) cancer in patients undergoing transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB) of the prostate gland.

Methods: Five hundred thirty-nine consecutive patients underwent TTMB by means of an anatomic technique with sampling of 24 defined prostate regions. The position of each biopsy core was recorded in 3 dimensions.

The effect of pro-qura case volume on post-implant prostate dosimetry.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of prostate brachytherapy case volume on postimplant dosimetric quality in Pro-Qura proctored programs.

Methods And Materials: From August 1999 to December 2008, the computed tomography datasets for 6,600 prostate implants performed by 129 brachytherapists were submitted to Pro-Qura for dosimetric analysis. Brachytherapists were divided into three roughly equal-sized terciles based on total case volume.

The correlation between annular treatment margins and biochemical failure in prostate brachytherapy patients with optimized intraprostatic dosimetry.

Purpose: To determine whether periprostatic treatment margins correlate with biochemical control in prostate brachytherapy patients with optimized intraprostatic dosimetry.

Methods And Materials: Nineteen biochemically failed brachytherapy patients were matched to 74 dosimetric and clinically equivalent nonfailures. The median followup time for the entire study population was 9.

Permanent prostate brachytherapy in prostate glands <20 cm(3).

Purpose: To investigate the dosimetry, treatment-related morbidity, and biochemical outcomes for brachytherapy in patients with prostate glands <20 cm(3).

Methods And Materials: From November 1996 to October 2006, 104 patients with prostate glands <20 cm(3) underwent brachytherapy. Multiple prostate, urethral, and rectal dosimetric parameters were evaluated.

Postimplant rectal dosimetry is not dependent on 103Pd or 125I seed activity.

Purpose: In this study, the effect of prostate brachytherapy seed activity on postimplant rectal dosimetry was evaluated in Pro-Qura (Prostate Brachytherapy Quality Assurance; Seattle, WA) proctored, community-based programs.

Methods And Materials: Twenty-three hundred patients (1563 iodine-125 [(125)I] and 737 palladium-103 [(103)Pd]) from 78 brachytherapists with postimplant rectal dosimetry were identified. Seed activity was stratified into three tertiles for each isotope (≤0.

cExternal beam radiation results in minimal changes in post void residual urine volumes during the treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer.

Background: To evaluate the impact of external beam radiation therapy (XRT) on weekly ultrasound determined post-void residual (PVR) urine volumes in patients with prostate cancer.

Methods: 125 patients received XRT for clinically localized prostate cancer. XRT was delivered to the prostate only (n = 66) or if the risk of lymph node involvement was greater than 10% to the whole pelvis followed by a prostate boost (n = 59).

Prebiopsy PSA velocity not reliable predictor of prostate cancer diagnosis, Gleason score, tumor location, or cancer volume after TTMB.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) velocity (PSAV) on prostate cancer diagnosis, Gleason score, tumor location, and cancer volume in men undergoing transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB). PSAV has been associated with greater Gleason scores and greater prostate cancer-specific mortality.

Methods: From January 2005 through September 2007, 217 patients underwent TTMB.

Pretreatment serum testosterone and androgen deprivation: effect on disease recurrence and overall survival in prostate cancer patients treated with brachytherapy.

Purpose: Low testosterone has been implicated as a possible adverse prognostic factor in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. We evaluated the impact of pretreatment serum testosterone on survival after prostate brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: From October 2001 to November 2004, 619 patients underwent brachytherapy and 546 had a pretreatment serum testosterone level measured.

Biochemical and functional outcomes following brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies in men < or = 50 years of age with clinically organ-confined prostate cancer.

Objectives: Despite favorable long-term prostate brachytherapy outcomes, there remains a bias to recommend radical prostatectomy for young patients. Herein, we report cause-specific survival, biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), overall survival and functional outcomes in men < or =50 years of age who underwent brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies.

Methods: From October 1995 to November 2004, 42 consecutive patients < or =50 years of age underwent permanent interstitial brachytherapy.

Effects of the time interval between prostate brachytherapy and postimplant dosimetric evaluation in community practice: analysis of the Pro-Qura database.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of postimplant dosimetric timing on prostate brachytherapy quality in community practice.

Materials And Methods: The Pro-Qura database was stratified by multiple time intervals between the implant and postimplant dosimetric analysis. Postimplant dosimetry was performed in a standardized fashion.

Analysis of the Pro-Qura Database: rectal dose, implant quality, and brachytherapist's experience.

Purpose: This study analyzed rectal dosimetry outcomes of Pro-Qura proctored implants to assess the achievability of proposed rectal dose constraints in the setting of standardized pre- and postimplant dosimetry in community-based brachytherapy programs.

Methods And Materials: From August 2005 to July 2007, 713 postimplant CT scans were evaluated from 26 brachytherapists actively participating in Pro-Qura. Postimplant dosimetry was performed in a standardized fashion.

Prostate cancer control and survival in Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

Background: In this study, we evaluated the impact of Agent Orange exposure on survival in Vietnam Veterans undergoing prostate brachytherapy.

Methods And Material: From May 1995 to January 2005, 81 Vietnam veterans (29 with Agent Orange exposure and 52 without) and 433 nonveterans of comparable age (mean age, 58 years) underwent prostate brachytherapy. The mean follow-up was 5.

Primary causes of death after permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the primary causes of death in low-risk (low-risk), intermediate-risk (intermediate-risk), and high-risk (high-risk) patients undergoing permanent prostate brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies.

Methods And Materials: From April 1995 through November 2004, a total of 1,354 consecutive patients underwent prostate brachytherapy. All patients underwent brachytherapy >3 years before analysis.

Prostate brachytherapy in men > or =75 years of age.

Purpose: To evaluate cause-specific survival (CSS), biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), and overall survival (OS) in prostate cancer patients aged > or =75 years undergoing brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies.

Methods And Materials: Between April 1995 and August 2004, 145 consecutive patients aged > or =75 years underwent permanent prostate brachytherapy. Median follow-up was 5.

Role of trospium chloride in brachytherapy-related detrusor overactivity.

Objectives: After prostate brachytherapy, pronounced urinary irritative symptomatology occurs in a substantial minority of patients. In this study, we evaluated the impact of trospium chloride in prostate brachytherapy patients with symptoms consistent with an overactive bladder (OAB).

Methods: From January 1999 through December 2005, 69 permanent prostate brachytherapy patients were identified who received trospium as first-line treatment for OAB.

Obesity is not predictive of overall survival following permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of obesity on cause-specific (CSS), biochemical progression-free (bPFS), and overall survival (OS) following prostate brachytherapy.

Materials And Methods: From April 1995 through March 2003, 1093 consecutive patients underwent brachytherapy for clinical T1b-T3a (2002 AJCC) prostate cancer. The median follow-up was 5.

Dosimetry of an extracapsular anulus following permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Recent studies have suggested that extracapsular brachytherapy treatment margins correlate with biochemical control. It is likely that volumetric geographic dosimetric parameters will be more robust than selected radial measurements. Accordingly, we evaluated extracapsular volumetric dosimetric parameters in low-risk patients.

Primary Gleason pattern does not impact survival after permanent interstitial brachytherapy for Gleason score 7 prostate cancer.

Background: The impact of primary Gleason pattern was determined on cause-specific (CSS), biochemical progression-free (bPFS), and overall survival (OS) after brachytherapy for Gleason score 7 prostate cancer.

Methods: From April 1995 to October 2003, 530 patients underwent brachytherapy for Gleason score 3+4 (n = 300) or Gleason 4+3 (n = 230) prostate cancer. All patients underwent brachytherapy more than 3 years before analysis.

Long-term rectal function after permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of prostate brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies on long-term rectal function by means of a patient-administered quality-of-life instrument.

Materials And Methods: As part of an ongoing prospective evaluation, 164 of an initial 209 patients who remain alive were mailed the Rectal Function Assessment Score (R-FAS) with a prestamped return envelope. R-FAS range from 0 to 27 with lower scores being indicative of better bowel function.

Androgen deprivation therapy does not impact cause-specific or overall survival in high-risk prostate cancer managed with brachytherapy and supplemental external beam.

Purpose: To determine cause-specific survival (CSS), biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), and overall survival (OS) in high-risk prostate cancer patients undergoing brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies.

Methods And Materials: Between April 1995 and July 2002, 204 patients with high-risk prostate cancer (Gleason score > or = 8 or prostate-specific antigen [PSA] >20 ng/mL or clinical stage > or = T2c) underwent brachytherapy. Median follow-up was 7.

Initial analysis of Pro-Qura: a multi-institutional database of prostate brachytherapy dosimetry.

Purpose: The study aimed to analyze the Pro-Qura database in terms of patient implant sequence number for each institution to determine evidence for a dosimetric learning curve.

Methods And Materials: In the Pro-Qura database, 2833 of a total of 4614 postplans from 57 brachytherapists were analyzed for evidence of a dosimetric learning curve. The median time between implant and postimplant CT scan was 30 days.

Statins, especially atorvastatin, may improve survival following brachytherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer.

This is the largest and longest clinical study to date to examine statin usage and overall patient survival following clinically localized prostate cancer. In a retrospective examination of 938 consecutive patients with early-stage prostate cancer treated with brachytherapy, 191 patients were documented to be taking statin medications. The patients taking statin medications had significantly lower prostate-specific antigen values, percent positive biopsies, and prostate volume than those patients not taking statin medications.