A survey of current clinical practice in permanent and temporary prostate brachytherapy: 2010 update

To help establish patterns of care and standards of care of interstitial permanent low-dose-rate (LDR) and temporary high-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer and to compare the results with a similar 1998 American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) survey.

A comprehensive questionnaire intended to survey specific details of current clinical brachytherapy practice was provided to the participants of the seventh ABS Prostate Brachytherapy School. Responses were tabulated and descriptive statistics are reported.

Sixty-five brachytherapy practitioners responded to the survey. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of respondents performed LDR and 49% perform high-dose-rate brachytherapy. The median number of years of experience for LDR brachytherapists increased from 5 to 10 years over the course of the 12 years since the preceding survey. Compared with the first ABS, a smaller proportion of respondents received formal brachytherapy residency training (43% vs. 56%) or formal "hands-on" brachytherapy training (15% vs. 63%). There has been a marked decline in the utilization of the Mick applicator (Mick Radio-Nuclear Instruments, Inc., Mount Vernon, NY, USA) (60% vs. 28%) and an increase in the use of stranded seeds (40% vs. 11%). Compliance with postimplant dosimetry was higher in the 2010 survey.

This survey does suggest an evolution in the practice of LDR brachytherapy since 1998 and aids in identifying aspects that require further progress or investigation. ABS guidelines and other practice recommendations appear to impact the practice of brachytherapy.