Prior transurethral resection does not increase morbidity following real-time ultrasound-guided prostate seed...

Patients with localized prostate cancer who had a prior open prostatectomy or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) may be at risk for greater morbidity when treated with brachytherapy. This analysis examines the morbidity following brachytherapy using the real-time method to determine if patients with a history of TURP are at increase risk for developing complications.

An ultrasound-guided transperineal interactive prostate seed was implanted in 419 patients with T1-T2 prostate cancer. All patients were implanted using a peripheral weighting of sources (75%) with the interior sources placed at least 5 mm from the urethra. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 consisted of 376 patients (89.7%) without a prior TURP, and group 2 consisted of 43 patients (10.3%) who had a TURP prior to their implant. The mean age, prostate-specific antigen level, Gleason score, clinical stage, prostate volume, isotope implanted, and number of patients treated with neoadjuvant hormone therapy were comparable for both groups.

Median follow-up for group 1 was 12 months and for group 2 was 18 months. No patients suffered from radiation-related proctitis or cystitis in either group of patients. Two patients in group 2 implanted with iodine 125 and who had a history of two prior TURPs developed mild superficial urethral necrosis (SUN). The actuarial freedom from developing superficial urethral necrosis at 4 years was 84% in patients with a history of prior TURP. There were no episodes of SUN in group 1 and no cases of incontinence reported in either group of patients. The actuarial rate of potency was 78% at 2 years.

Whereas other techniques of seed implantation report incontinence in patients who had a prior open prostatectomy or TURP, the real-time method combined with peripheral loading avoids this complication.