[Brachytherapy results in prostatic cancer]

To analyze the 15-year results of external irradiation combined with radioactive gold grain implantation (Au198) in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the prostate and to discuss the therapeutic perspectives.

The present study was conducted on 23 patients with localized prostate carcinoma (17 stage B; 6 stage C) that had been diagnosed and treated at our department from February 1981 to October 1986. The mean patient follow-up was 90.96 months. Au198 implantation (mean dose 3347.6 cGy) was performed through the abdominal approach prior to external irradiation (mean dose 39 Gy) with Co-60 (19 patients) or the 18-MV photon linear accelerator (4 patients). The mean fractionated dose was 180.43 cGy/day.

Overall the 15-year locoregional control rate was 61% and disease-free survival was 38%. The overall survival rate was 25%, regardless of the cause of death. The tumor control rate was 61% for stage B and 83% for stage C lesions at 15 years. The disease-free survival rate was 40% for stage B and 50% for stage C tumors. The local control and disease-free survival rates were worse for patients in whom the diagnosis had been made by TUR (p = not significant).

The locoregional tumor control and disease-free survival rates for this group of 23 patients who received combined therapy with external irradiation and radioactive gold grain implantation (Au198) were slightly lower than those obtained in another group of 104 patients treated at our Service of Radiotherapeutic Oncology with radical external radiation therapy and can be ascribed mainly to poor patient selection and inadequate radiation dose.