"Results from a new prospective clinical trial indicate that highdoserate HDR brachytherapy administered in a single  Gray Gy treatment may be a safe and effective alternative to longer courses of HDR treatment for men with localized prostate cancer. The study http is available online in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology  Biology  Physics http the flagship journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology ASTRO. With brachytherapy also known as internal radiation therapy RT implants are surgically inserted in or near cancerous tissue to deliver a curative radiation dose directly to the tumor while limiting exposure for surrounding healthy tissue. Reducing this exposure is of particular concern for treating tumors in the prostate which is surrounded by multiple critical structures. In contrast to lowdoserate LDR brachytherapy where radioactive seed implants are placed permanently in the body and gradually deposit low levels of radiation over a period of months HDR treatments deposit the dose in one treatment after which the radioactive implant is removed from the patient. Typically HDR brachytherapy is administered in four to as many as nine treatment sessions which generally requires multiple invasive procedures to insert the implants. While the number of sessions can be streamlined by increasing the dose given in each session data on the safety and tolerability of highly escalated brachytherapy doses are still relatively new and therefore limited. In this study researchers found that patients who received a single fraction of  Gy HDR brachytherapy experienced similar clinical outcomes as with LDR brachytherapy but with the convenience of a single visit. It is becoming apparent that patients may be treated definitively for their prostate cancer in as little as a single day with a minimally invasive outpatient procedure said lead study author Daniel J. Krauss MD a radiation oncologist at Oakland Universitys William Beaumont School of Medicine in Royal Oak Michigan. We found that patients generally can resume normal activities the following day with typical side effects. The study which appeared in the Red Journals January  issue http presented the results of a nonrandomized prospective clinical trial of  patients with low or intermediaterisk nonmetastatic prostate cancer with a median followup period of . years. All patients received a single  Gy fraction of HDR brachytherapy. The median patient age was  years range  and  percent of the patients presented with stage T disease. At an average of nearly three years following treatment cancer control rates were favorable and the toxicity profile was highly favorable. Three patients experienced recurrence or progression yielding an estimated threeyear cumulative biochemical control rate of  percent. Within the six months following HDR therapy seven patients . experienced grade  urinary side effects most commonly frequencyurgency .. No patients experienced shortterm grade  urinary toxicity or grade  gastrointestinal GI toxicity. Rates were similarly modest for longterm side effects. Six patients . experienced chronic grade  urinary toxicity and one patient . experienced grade  chronic GI toxicity that subsequently resolved. No patients experienced longterm grade  urinary toxicity or grade  GI toxicity. This study illustrates that a potentially curative dose of radiation may be delivered safely to the prostate entirely in a single administration said Dr. Krauss. Giving the entire dose in a single treatment theoretically could have had a greater negative impact on the normal tissues in close proximity to the prostatemeaning the bladder urethra and rectumbut this was not found to be the case. Toxicity rates were extremely low with essentially no major complications encountered in this initial group of  patients. While findings highlight the potential tolerability of a single fraction of HDR brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer the article also emphasizes the need for additional followup to compare longterm cancer control rates with conventional treatment approaches which generally administer larger cumulative doses than the  Gy dose used in this trial. As the followup interval lengthens  Gy dosing in a single fraction may or may not be sufficient to result in cure rates comparable to historical standards. One thing that this study has made clear however is that the extremely low toxicity and complication rates leave room to escalate the single fraction dose in subsequent trials said Dr. Krauss. While additional study and longer followup are necessary to confirm the optimal dose for singlefraction HDR brachytherapy we are optimistic that the singletreatment approach can eventually become a standard practice for prostate cancer treatment. For more information or a copy of the full study contact ASTROs media relations team at pressastro.org mailtopressastro.org. For the study abstract visit http For more information about Red Journal visit  http ABOUT ASTROASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world with more than  members who are physicians nurses biologists physicists radiation therapists dosimetrists and other health care professionals who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training support for clinical practice and health policy standards advancement of science and research and advocacy. ASTRO publishes three medical journals International Journal of Radiation Oncology  Biology  Physics  http Practical Radiation Oncology  http and Advances in Radiation Oncology  http developed and maintains an extensive patient website RT Answers  http and created the Radiation Oncology Institute  http a nonprofit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO visit  https"