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. No patient underwent seminal vesicle biopsy or pathologic lymph node staging. The mean and median follow-up was 5.6 and 5.1 year. bPFS was defined as a prostate-specific antigen < or =0.40 ng/mL after nadir. Functional outcome determinations included urinary, bowel and erectile function evaluations. Multiple clinical, treatment and dosimetric parameters were evaluated for impact on survival.

Results: Cause-specific survival, bPFS, and overall survival for the entire cohort were 100%, 97.7%, and 100%, respectively. To date, only one patient has failed biochemically. Median time to International Prostate Symptom Score resolution was 3 months. No patient required a postimplant transurethral resection of the prostate or developed urinary incontinence. Two patients developed bulbomembtranous urethral strictures. The overall potency preservation rate was 75.6% (International Index of Erectile Function-6 >13 without mechanical or pharmacologic support). Bowel habits were reported to be the same or better than prior to treatment in 92.5% patients. No severe rectal complications requiring therapeutic intervention occurred.

Conclusions: Men < or =50 years of age have favorable biochemical and functional outcomes following brachytherapy. Depending on risk group assignment, brachytherapy with or without supplemental therapies should be considered a viable option for all healthy men regardless of age.