Side Effects of Permanent Radioactive Iodine-125 Implants Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer in Nigeria.

Background: Radioactive seeds implant is a novel option in the developed world for the treatment of organ-confined prostate cancer; however, it is a rare procedure in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria. The first prostate brachytherapy in Nigeria was performed in 2019 at La'Newton Oncology Clinic using low-dose radioactive iodine-125. The side effects on patients that were treated in three years of its existence in Nigeria are documented in this study.

[Long-term evaluation of low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy in localized prostate cancer].

Background And Objectives: As a result of technical innovation, i.e., improvement of seed quality, implantation method, and dose calculation, it has been possible to continuously improve oncological results in the treatment of localized prostate cancer with low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT).

Weakly Supervised MR-TRUS Image Synthesis for Brachytherapy of Prostate Cancer.

Prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers accurate details of structures and tumors for prostate cancer brachytherapy. However, it is unsuitable for routine treatment since MR images differ significantly from trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) images conventionally used for radioactive seed implants in brachytherapy. TRUS imaging is fast, convenient, and widely available in the operation room but is known for its low soft-tissue contrast and tumor visualization capability in the prostate area.

Continuous liquid interface production of 3D printed drug-loaded spacers to improve prostate cancer brachytherapy treatment.

Brachytherapy, which is the placement of radioactive seeds directly into tissue such as the prostate, is an important curative treatment for prostate cancer. By delivering a high dose of radiation from within the prostate gland, brachytherapy is an effective method of killing prostate cancer cells while limiting radiation dose to normal tissue. The main shortcomings of this treatment are: less efficacy against high grade tumor cells, acute urinary retention, and sub-acute urinary frequency and urgency.

ACR-ABS-ASTRO Practice Parameter for Transperineal Permanent Brachytherapy of Prostate Cancer.

Aim/objectives/background: The American College of Radiology (ACR), American Brachytherapy Society (ABS), and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) have jointly developed the following practice parameter for transperineal permanent brachytherapy of prostate cancer. Transperineal permanent brachytherapy of prostate cancer is the interstitial implantation of low-dose rate radioactive seeds into the prostate gland for the purpose of treating localized prostate cancer.

Methods: This practice parameter was developed according to the process described under the heading The Process for Developing ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards on the ACR website (https://www.

Comparison of Three Groups of Patients Having Low Dose Rate Prostate Brachytherapy: Prostate-Specific Antigen Failure and Overall Survival.

Purpose To examine dosimetric and clinical outcomes for Cs-131 radioactive seed implant compared to Pd-103 and I-125.  Background/Significance Cs-131 is a novel isotope with relatively short half-life (9.7 days) that may have clinical advantages in seed implant treatments of prostate cancers.

Prostate permanent implant brachytherapy with BARC I-125 Ocu-Prosta seeds.

Aim: The aim of this study is implementation and establishment of standard operating procedure for permanent prostate implant brachytherapy technique using BARC I-125 Ocu-Prosta seeds.

Materials And Methods: The transrectal ultrasound (US)-guided procedure was used for permanent implant procedure. The Best Sonalis™ US Imaging System and Best NOMOS™ Treatment Planning system was used for volume study and implant procedure.

Optical fibre based real-time measurements during an LDR prostate brachytherapy implant simulation: using a 3D printed anthropomorphic phantom.

An optical fibre sensor based on radioluminescence, using the scintillation material terbium doped gadolinium oxysulphide (GdOS:Tb) is evaluated, using a 3D printed anthropomorphic phantom for applications in low dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy. The scintillation material is embedded in a 700 µm diameter cavity within a 1 mm plastic optical fibre that is fixed within a brachytherapy needle. The high spatial resolution dosimeter is used to measure the dose contribution from Iodine-125 (I-125) seeds.

Machine learning and registration for automatic seed localization in 3D US images for prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: New radiation therapy protocols, in particular adaptive, focal or boost brachytherapy treatments, require determining precisely the position and orientation of the implanted radioactive seeds from real-time ultrasound (US) images. This is necessary to compare them to the planned one and to adjust automatically the dosimetric plan accordingly for next seeds implantations. The image modality, the small size of the seeds, and the artifacts they produce make it a very challenging problem.

Fully Balanced SSFP Without an Endorectal Coil for Postimplant QA of MRI-Assisted Radiosurgery (MARS) of Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: To investigate fully balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) with optimized acquisition protocols for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based postimplant quality assessment of low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy without an endorectal coil (ERC).

Methods And Materials: Seventeen patients at a major academic cancer center who underwent MRI-assisted radiosurgery (MARS) LDR prostate cancer brachytherapy were imaged with moderate, high, or very high spatial resolution fully bSSFP MRIs without using an ERC. Between 1 and 3 signal averages (NEX) were acquired with acceleration factors (R) between 1 and 2, with the goal of keeping scan times between 4 and 6 minutes.

A deep learning method for real-time intraoperative US image segmentation in prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: This paper addresses the detection of the clinical target volume (CTV) in transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) image-guided intraoperative for permanent prostate brachytherapy. Developing a robust and automatic method to detect the CTV on intraoperative TRUS images is clinically important to have faster and reproducible interventions that can benefit both the clinical workflow and patient health.

Methods: We present a multi-task deep learning method for an automatic prostate CTV boundary detection in intraoperative TRUS images by leveraging both the low-level and high-level (prior shape) information.

Expert consensus on computed tomography-assisted three-dimensional-printed coplanar template guidance for interstitial permanent radioactive I seed implantation therapy.

Interstitial permanent radioactive seed implantation delivers a high local dose to tumors and sharply drops off at surrounding normal tissues. Radioactive seeds implanted via ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) guidance are minimally invasive and facilitate quick recovery. Transrectal ultrasound-guided I seed implantation assisted by a transperineal plane template is standard for early-stage prostate carcinoma, with a highly consistent target volume dose distribution.

Spontaneous healing of rectal penetration by SpaceOAR hydrogel insertion during permanent iodine-125 implant brachytherapy: A case report.

Radiation therapy with permanent iodine-125 implant brachytherapy is well established for curable prostate cancer. To maximize the therapeutic potential of brachytherapy, delivered radiation doses have been increased accompanied by refined intraoperative procedures of radioactive seeds placement. However, dose escalation is a double-edged sword in prostate brachytherapy; it could induce rectal toxicity, yet is successful in curable treatment in prostate cancer.

Automated air kerma strength quality assurance of permanent seed implant prostate brachytherapy sources using vendor autoradiographs.

Purpose: To develop a novel quality assurance (QA) program to determine the air kerma strength (AKS) of brachytherapy seeds within preloaded needles using autoradiographs alone, without jeopardizing sterility or necessitating procedural changes either by the vendor or in the operating room.

Methods And Materials: Digital autoradiographs of QA seed orders and sterile preloaded needles were acquired. Regions of interest of each preloaded seed were determined through an iterative scanning process identifying changes from background levels to radioactivity exposure.

A mixed-integer linear programming optimization model framework for capturing expert planning style in low dose rate prostate brachytherapy.

Low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy is a minimally invasive form of radiation therapy, used to treat prostate cancer, and it involves permanent implantation of radioactive sources (seeds) inside of the prostate gland. Treatment planning in brachytherapy involves a decision making process for the placement of the sources in order to deliver an effective dose of radiation to cancerous tissue in the prostate while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Such a decision making process can be modeled as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem.

Development and clinical implementation of SeedNet: A sliding-window convolutional neural network for radioactive seed identification in MRI-assisted radiosurgery (MARS).

Purpose: To develop and evaluate a sliding-window convolutional neural network (CNN) for radioactive seed identification in MRI of the prostate after permanent implant brachytherapy.

Methods: Sixty-eight patients underwent prostate cancer low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy using radioactive seeds stranded with positive contrast MR-signal seed markers and were scanned using a balanced steady-state free precession pulse sequence with and without an endorectal coil (ERC). A sliding-window CNN algorithm (SeedNet) was developed to scan the prostate images using 3D sub-windows and to identify the implanted radioactive seeds.

Inferring postimplant dose distribution of salvage permanent prostate implant (PPI) after primary PPI on CT images.

Purpose: To evaluate the dose distribution of additional radioactive seeds implanted during salvage permanent prostate implant (sPPI) after a primary permanent prostate implant (pPPI).

Methods And Materials: Patients with localized prostate cancer were primarily implanted with iodine-125 seeds and had a dosimetric assessment based on day 30 postimplant CT (CT1). After an average of 6 years, these patients underwent sPPI followed by the same CT-based evaluation of dosimetry (CT2).

Reduction of seed motion using a bio-absorbable polymer coating during permanent prostate brachytherapy using a mick applicator technique.

Purpose: The addition of a braided bio-absorbable vicryl coating to the surface of radioactive seeds used for low dose rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy is intended to reduce the incidence of seed movement and migration. Here, we present a single-institution study of the frequency and severity of seed slippage (initial seed movement) of coated seeds in comparison with uncoated seeds.

Methods: Forty-seven patients received permanent prostate brachytherapy, with either coated (n = 26) or uncoated (n = 21) seeds.

Patient-reported health-related quality of life for men treated with low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy as monotherapy with 125-iodine, 103-palladium, or 131-cesium: Results of a prospective phase II study.

Purpose: To compare quality of life (QoL) after brachytherapy with one of the three approved radioactive isotopes.

Methods And Materials: Patients with mostly favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer were treated on this prospective phase II trial with brachytherapy as monotherapy, without hormonal therapy. QoL was recorded at baseline and each follow-up by using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite instrument.

Expert consensus workshop report: Guideline for three-dimensional printing template-assisted computed tomography-guided I seeds interstitial implantation brachytherapy.

Radioactive 125I seeds (RIS) interstitial implantation brachytherapy has been a first-line treatment for early-stage cancer of the prostate gland. However, its poor accuracy and homogeneity has limited its indication and hampered its popularization for a long time. Intriguingly, scholars based in China introduced computed tomography (CT)-guided technology to improve the accuracy and homogeneity of RIS implantation and broadened the indications.

Brachytherapy with Intratumoral Injections of Radiometal-Labeled Polymers That Thermoresponsively Self-Aggregate in Tumor Tissues.

Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy wherein titanium capsules containing therapeutic radioisotopes are implanted within tumor tissues, enabling high-dose radioirradiation to tumor tissues around the seeds. Although marked therapeutic effects have been demonstrated, brachytherapy needs a complicated implantation technique under general anesthesia and the seeds could migrate to other organs. The aim of this study was to establish a novel brachytherapy using biocompatible, injectable thermoresponsive polymers (polyoxazoline [POZ]) labeled with Y, which can self-aggregate above a specific transition temperature (Tt), resulting in long-term intratumoral retention of radioactivity and therapeutic effect.

Low-Dose Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy with Radioactive Palladium-Gold Nanoparticles.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of death among men. Low-dose brachytherapy is an increasingly used treatment for PCa, which requires the implantation of tens of radioactive seeds. This treatment causes discomfort; these implants cannot be removed, and they generate image artifacts.

Lessons Learned from Autopsying an Unidentified Body with Iodine-125 Seeds Implanted for Prostate Brachytherapy.

We report here lessons learned from an autopsy case involving radioactive materials. We performed an autopsy of an unidentified mummified man with no available medical history whom from imaging findings we suspected had received radioactive seed implants for prostate brachytherapy. We returned the excised prostate and seeds to the body.