Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), has performed first prostate cancer surgery using Blu Build real-time Cesium-131 brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy) delivery system from Isoray.
Image: MUSC performs first prostate cancer surgery using brachytherapy system from Isoray. Photo: Courtesy of Isoray Inc.
Isoray stated that its disposable, single use, brachytherapy system has been designed to be handheld, offering a new level of maneuverability.
Blu Build is claimed to be the first new delivery system have been specifically designed for prostate brachytherapy in the recent years.
The system also offers additional benefits as it allows doctors to deliver a high radiation dose to the targeted prostate cancer and limits the impact on the surrounding areas compared to other treatment options.
Isoray CEO Lori Woods said: “Blu Build provides each patient personalized treatment for their specific situation with the unique treatment benefits of Cesium-131 brachytherapy. This is an important step forward in prostate cancer treatment.”
Isoray is also claimed to be the only producer of Cesium-131 brachytherapy, which can expand internal radiation treatment for prostate and difficult to treat brain, gynecological, lung, head and neck, esophageal, and abdominal wall cancers.
In November, a study showed improved survival rates among cervical cancer patients treated with brachytherapy and external beam radiation treatment (EBRT). All of the patients involved in the study had previously had a hysterectomy with positive surgical margins.
Out of the 1,719 patients studied, 778 or 45.3% of them received brachytherapy in addition to EBRT. The patients who received brachytherapy treatment resulted in an overall survival rate of 79.4%and those who underwent EBRT alone resulted in a survival rate of 71.9%. The results of this study show the value of brachytherapy beyond prostate cancer treatment.
The study was titled Survival Benefit of Adjuvant Brachytherapy After Hysterectomy With Positive Surgical Margins in Cervical Cancer and was published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology.
Last September, the company stated that three peer-reviewed publications showed positive results for its brachytherapy, including Cesium-131, for prostate cancer treatment. These studies have shown that men treated with brachytherapy for prostate cancer can enjoy a high post-treatment quality of life with equivalent if not superior disease control.