Medical team performs procedure for first time

  • Published
  • By Mike Frangipane
  • 88 Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The Wright-Patterson Prostate Cancer Treatment Team performed its first implantation of radioactive seeds in the treatment of prostate cancer here Jan. 9 at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center with the assistance of a world-renowned radiation oncologist. 

Dr. John C. Blasko, retired Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington and the first to perform the procedure in the United States and to perfect its use, assisted the team in performing and establishing the procedure. 

"Fifteen years of data have shown that seed implant, or as it is formally known, prostate brachytherapy, is equal to the other two treatments in cure rate," said Dr. Blasko. 

With the establishment of this procedure at the medical center, the team adds the third element to the arsenal of prostate cancer treatments, the other two elements are external radiation beam therapy and prostatectomy or surgical removal of the prostate gland. The new treatment has the added advantage of being an outpatient procedure that can be completed in 30 minutes with a return to normal activity in as little as three to four days. 

"The primary advantage of prostate seed therapy is that the normal anatomy is preserved, helping to preserve urinary and sexual functions," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) E. Ronald Hale, chief of Radiation Oncology at the medical center. "Since the radiation is placed within the prostate gland, side effects to nearby organs are minimized." 

Funding for this project is out of last year's Department of Veterans Affairs grant to the Medical Center of $1.1 million dollars. The grant was purposed to expand cancer therapy offerings to Veterans Administration and Department of Defense patient populations. Wright-Patterson Medical Center is now ready to accept referrals from all Department of Defense and Veterans Administration beneficiaries for prostate seed brachytherapy.

Dr. Blasko's participation has contributed much to make the availability of the new treatment here a reality. A 1983 medical journal article described the work of a Copenhagen, Denmark physician using a needle to obtain a prostate biopsy and then to seed the area with radioactive pellets. However, the physician soon abandoned his work due to his patients' development of complications. It was at that point in 1985 that Dr. Blasko took up the work of developing the procedure into an effective treatment for prostate cancer.

"Since that time I personally have done about 8,000 cases," said Dr. Blasko. "We have published our data out to 15 years so it is no longer a new procedure. It is a treatment that can be applied to patients in all stages of prostate cancer."

Key to the success of prostate seed implant treatment is the use of ultrasound to obtain a visual image of the prostate determining its size and exact location. This allows the treatment team to establish a three dimensional grid map for precise placement of 80 or 90 seeds within the prostate, depending on its size and shape. 

"What you do is run this through the physics computer to figure out for a particular individual's prostate how to arrange the seeds," said Dr. Blasko. "Once you have figured out the physics, then you can create a plan."

According to Dr. Blasko, the plan includes not just the number and placement of the seeds, but the specific radiation strength of the seeds ordered for each patient, so that the same dose of radiation is delivered to the prostate. A larger prostate will require a larger area of radiation, while a smaller gland will require fewer seeds with lesser amounts of radiation.

Advances in the procedure, lesser side effects and the speed of recovery give patients dealing with prostate cancer at the medical center one more encouraging option.